It’s hard to come up with words to express the splattering of emotions that arise when a loved one passes. What’s equally challenging is to pause and be present with those who are expressing feelings that make us feeling anything other than pleasant.
Sadness and grief are as real, true, and important to express as happiness and joy.
This is a hard lesson that I have to remind myself of daily. I’m on the way to Connecticut with my new husband to mourn the death of his grandfather. I’m already on guard because, while I absolutely want to be there for him, I feel incredibly permeable around grief. This emotion, scares me most, second to only anger. I think it’s the level of vulnerability I which grief leaves me feeling exposed an powerless that I disdain.
My intention this weekend is to be present. It is easy to sit in meditation in a quiet room with a comfortable cushion and be equanimously at peace. To be present in a tornado of emotions is something else.
Honoring all of these emotions and supporting our tribe of friends and family through the good, the bad, and the ugly is what love and life are all about. Here’s to truly, painfully, blissfully LIVING!
