"Making the choice to not just grieve but authentically mourn provides us the courage to live through the pain of loss and be transformed by it."
-Dr. Alan Wolfelt
What is Grief?
The Center for Loss & Life Transition explains, "The word “grief” is the simple shorthand we use for what is actually a highly complex mixture of thoughts and feelings.
Grief is...
- Everything we think and feel inside after someone we love dies or leaves or something we are attached to goes away.
- The instinctive human response to loss.
- Natural and necessary.
Our culture tends to deny, diminish, and judge the pain of grief, but the truth is that grief is not something to be afraid of, hide from, or think of as “bad” or “weak.” It is not an illness or mental-health problem. If you are grieving, rest assured that what you are experiencing is not only normal, it is the very thing that will help you heal."
Furthermore...
"Grief is not something we choose or don’t choose. Rather, it is in our wiring. It is the normal and necessary journey we embark on after something we have valued no longer exists. If someone we love dies, we grieve. If a beloved pet dies, we grieve. If someone we love leaves us, we grieve. If something we value is taken away from us, we grieve. If circumstances we were comfortable with or attached to change, we grieve. In general, the stronger our attachment to the person or the thing, the stronger our grief will be. You see, love and grief are two sides of the same precious coin. One does not—and cannot—exist without the other. They are the yin and yang of our lives. People sometimes say that grief is the price we pay for the joy of having loved."