Pushing the Clouds Away

Daily email messages to bring comfort through introspection and action.

Grief is a Journey - Day #1

Grief is a journey; a most-difficult, heart-wrenching, gut-churning journey. It's not a place you would ask to go, but everyone who has ever loved someone will make this journey at some point in their life.

There is no preparation for this journey. We all enter into it the first time completely unprepared emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Even when we've spent months or years watching a loved one's health deteriorate and tell ourselves to believe we are ready for the finality of their death ... we're not.

Activity: Find a pad of paper, a blank journal, or simply a notebook and a pen you love to use – something that writes smoothly and effortlessly. Take time and write a letter to the loved one who has died, tell them all that you love and appreciate about your experience of them sharing all the positive memories you can remember.

What you’ll learn from this exercise is the recognition of your resiliency and the gift the person was in your life – you are strong and you will survive this latest loss. Embrace the process, don’t resist it. You will discover that sorrow moves into joy and love will keep your memories alive forever.