Dealing with grief
Inevitably, it happens to all of us: the loss of someone dear. It happened to me recently when a close friend died. I went spinning into a cycle of very painful emotions, and it was only when I stopped trying to escape from my sadness that I finally accepted the reality of my loss and began to heal. It was a long and difficult process, but I came out of it more aware than ever of my own mortality and of my obligation to live, in as positive a way as possible, the days that are left to me.
Grief is the agony of an instant; the indulgence of grief the blunder of a life.
- Benjamin Disraeli
The only cure for grief is action.
- Lewes George Henry
Bruno's commentary
A friend sent me a very kind sympathy card. He wrote: "Be in touch with your emotions; that will help you heal. Cry when you want to cry. Be angry when you want to be angry. Scream or kick something when you have the urge. And allow yourself to laugh, when the opportunity arises." I couldn't have worded it better. His note made me aware that even painful situations come to us bearing a gift: the recognition that my life, like everyone else's, has an expiration date and that every day in the present is a present.
Are you making the most out of this present?