The more I work with grief, the more frequently it appears in my daily landscape.
It comes in the form of the sudden death of a friend’s pet, or while trying to find someone I used to know who died almost 5 years ago and I didn’t know. It surprises me as I go about my day. When someone asks what I do now, and I mention grief work, well, it’s almost like in invitation they have yearned to open, and the long locked door to a basement of tears and it swings open – wide – and asks to be gently witnessed.
There are occurrences now, where I meet grief and commune with another for a while. Or a group. I’ve been learning to let go of the notion that I was ever able to control life. A better word is manage. Even that doesn’t describe this sense of radical acceptance, that grief is real, and its sister is gratitude and joy.
I seem to be equipped (rather gifted), with a kind of calm and compassion that soothes the pain and suffering that tends to rise quietly and courageously, from any kind of conversation. We end up in a field together called: grief and loss.
It’s not always the death of a loved one. At times it’s the loss from divorce, from betrayal, from abandonment or other disenfranchised losses that can be swept aside quickly with a ‘oh, you’ll be fine. Let it go.’ That is what can hurt the most. A kind of innocent bypassing of the pain, to get away from the discomfort of grief.
With that in mind, I’d like to offer a little bit of salve to you. Recorded for an online membership community, these two audios can be found on Juli Kramer’ss site, Radiant Shenti. She’s a dear friend who collaborates with numerous teachers. It’s worth perusing the site. Feel free to look around and see if anything calls to you. It’s one of those rare places that offers authentic and meaningful gifts – every teacher is wonderful and shares beautiful wisdom for overall health and well-being. Enjoy.
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