A Message to Grievers: Never Apologize for Wanting to Heal

As a bereaved mom, I surrender!

My stress.

My feeling like I haven’t done enough.

My attachment to outcome.

My feelings of overwhelm.

These are the things that are blocking me from feeling good today.

When I surrender, I am in a better place.

A place of trust and faith, and that allows me to see the light again.

To be the light again.

My son died 21 years ago, and these are the things dimming my light today.

However, when my grief was newer to me, those things were different.

They were deep despair, sadness, anger.

Sound familiar?

I know myself.

And like a lot of other grievers, I have a tendency to want to retreat to darkness, to hide. And I used to expect people to find me there.

People in the darkness need the light. They need to see glimpses of it. But it’s not about the the light finding them.

They need to find the light.

There is a responsibility that lies inside each person in this darkness to find the light. And that is a truth so many don’t want to face.

In the darkness of grief we sit with others who also reside in this darkness. Those who know this pain too. We comfort each other, hold hands, reassure one another.

Many are in pain waiting for the light to find them.

Others search for the light. Those are the ones who are ready to heal.

Then someone sees it! They start to move toward it. They know this light is life waiting for them.

Life that is bright and hopeful and they even see glimpses of joy!

They move toward it.

They take a few steps toward it, believing as they hold hands with the others, that they will lead them into the light too. And then they notice the grip getting tighter.

They notice those who have offered them love, understanding, and support not only don’t want to go with them, but are actually trying to hold them back from going too.

Keep going!

Keep stepping. Keep reaching. Get to the light!

Get to your life. It’s calling to you.

Get to the place where you find your strength and will be able to shine again at full voltage.

Then you can light the path for the next brave soul ready to make the journey from grief to life.

Follow this journey on Sherrie’s website.