Good-bye 2017 2018 HELLO!
As some of you may
know, during the year I facilitate a group of individuals who come together
twice a month to listen or talk about their grief journey…. a journey without
end.
At each meeting we sit in a circle of chairs
and discuss a new topic on grief.
The part that amazes me is this:
Total strangers living
with the pain of grief so strong that it empowers them to seek out answers.
Coming together as strangers a miraculous thing happens….
Participants leave having
found new acquaintances and for some new friendships. Some join us for a few meetings
while others will keep attending for years. Together they have created a community, a safe
place for sharing their pain, fears or loneliness. With no judgments on what is
said; and no limitation on tears or laughter. (We do a lot of both) a new strength
is found to carry on with life.
We openly talk about
our loved ones who have died; our guilt or anger or our inability to eat;
sleep; socialize or take care of our health. We sometimes talk about how we
want to leave this world and be with our soul mate or loved one. The most important part of our two hours
together is that when we talk / share our deepest feelings, others listen and “get-it”. We come to understand that we are not alone;
not crazy or losing it…. We are normal!!!
We come together as
strangers and leave with a new understanding of our grief; and techniques on
how to remember the past and still reach for the future. We leave knowing we
are not alone on this life path…. and that we can create a new normal; never
forgetting our loved one, but embracing their memory as we carry on.
In a world too busy
to understand our pain the group becomes a new home of sorts. A safe place where all can
be our true selves. The fog we live
in begins to lift.
Throughout this I’ve
used the word “we” because at the end of each meeting I too have learned. I
have been blessed by the gift each participant brings to the gathering. For
that I am forever thankful!
BR
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