a steady diet of faith & fancy with some mischief thrown in here and there

as seen in my dear friend kellfire's journal (thanks!). Sometimes you just get sent something you need to read/hear.

Embracing Grief
Grief Is Important

Change is something
that happens each and every moment in our lives. Since nothing is
constant, it may sometimes seem as if we are losing something whenever
things do change. Understanding that this is part of our daily
existence and that there will not only be gains but also losses in our
lives can help us more readily accept and deal with whatever happens.

Whenever
we lose something or somebody we love, it is important for us to take
time out for ourselves and truly feel the weight of what we are
experiencing. Although it may seem that doing so will push us into a
deeper state of sadness, truly giving ourselves permission to be with
whatever arises actually creates space for us to begin the healing
process. This is because the act of grieving is a natural process,
allowing us to sort through the range of emotions that are present in
our everyday existence. Even though it may sometimes seem easier to
involve ourselves in activities that take our minds off of our sadness,
this will only make the route to healing more difficult. Unless we
listen to where we are in the moment, the emotions we experience will
only grow in intensity, and our feelings will manifest themselves in
more powerful and less comfortable ways. Once we consciously
acknowledge that these emotions are present, however, we are more able
to soothe the sorrow of t! he moment. In so doing, we become more open
to our natural ability to heal ourselves.

Grieving doesn’t have
to be a process that keeps us rooted in our thoughts of fear and
sadness. For the moment we might feel despondent, but by expressing and
coping with our true feelings, we face the sadness head-on. When we
allow ourselves to accept and deal with our loss fully, we will then be
able to continue our life’s journey with a much more positive and
accepting outlook. This will make it easier for us to see that our
grief is ephemeral and, just like our moments of happiness, it will
also come to pass.