There’s A Reason It’s Called “Good Grief”

We are always saying goodbye.

 

This isn’t singularly sad. This is the truth.

 

It is fitting “goodbye” has the word good in it.

 

Just like the phrase “good grief”.

 

Saying “farewell” or “grieving” are experiences which hold powerful elements of goodness.

 

Something wonderful and beautiful is worth saying a proper goodbye to.

 

A person who was so incredible deserves to be properly grieved. Their loss is significant, and so is the space they left behind.

 

The process of goodbye, the experience of grief, these things are like a cleansing, a healing, an experience we are never truly outside of.

 

It is a cycle with no defined end point. As long as we are alive, we are in the midst of good grief.

 

Any unprocessed grief will be triggered by new loss. And so the feelings attached to the previous loss will be unearthed, asking to be worked through.

 

The problem lies in the labeling of grief as “bad”. Admittedly, grief is not fun. But neither is exercising. Sometimes it’s really shitty. You don’t want to do it, but you cannot deny how much better you feel once you’ve finished your workout.

 

Grief is similar. When we go through intense bouts of grief it’s decidedly fucking awful. But when we reach the other side, we feel lighter, softer, at ease with ourselves and with life.

 

Just like the endorphins we experience after a long, hard run.

 

The other problem is the lie of thinking we need to endure the process of grief by ourselves. The hideous misconception we must bear this heavy burden alone.

 

Grief is a human experience. Therefore we all experience it. Therefore it is meant to be shared. One of the unexpected results of grief is the unity it creates between those in its midst, if we allow ourselves to connect.

 

That’s the caveat. If we allow ourselves to connect

 

We are all in this together. Can we be soft enough to open up to those we trust and let the good grief begin?

 

I hope so.

 

Bye……for now ♥️