I love how you said "I can hold onto more than one feeling at once." I think this is true with thoughts as well, however many of us have been programmed to think that we can only love, not hate, only be black, not white...when the world is all shades of gray, where we're constantly going through the fog of our mental war, unraveling the web of possibilities.
Grief has taught me that there is hope and time will heal. It has taught me that I can move through life and still grieve because it will always be there. It's how you deal with it that matters.
My grief has taught me that it can be a really hard day but that I can find gratitude in my breath. My grief has taught me that I can find gratitude in being able to take things one minute, one hour, and day at a time.
On August 5, 2022, my youngest son suddenly died of an overdose of meth laced with fentanyl. He was 24. The grief sometimes can be crushing. But at the same time, I am grateful his mentally ill mind is at peace now. Free in the grand Universe he believed deeply in. So I can relate to growth and grief co-existing.
I haven’t found a way to get over my aunts passing, it was this year May. Ever since her funeral I find it hard to smile, I want to stay in bed and I’m never present, my mind constantly goes to sadness whenever I’m around people and I can’t hide it anymore.
But I believe in God and I know he will deliver from this eventually.
My grief taught me that there are good days and there are bad days. That’s how life always will be. My gratitude taught me show up for myself especially when I didn’t feel like showing up. Together, they taught me that it’s possible to feel both heartbroken and healed at the same time.
Grief taught me that life goes on. I had to let go of a certain life goal this year to save myself from the constant disappointments that followed everytime I tried to achieve it. It was tough, and I was just filled with so much sadness, but I told myself that choice was better for my mental health.
13 years ago on Thanksgiving my best friend (who also was my mother) passed.
This weekend of thankful reflection I have used to grieve relationships that no longer are in my best interest. Thank you for providing me the insight to move forward to live a life that is healthiest for me.
what grief taught me about gratitude ? to be grateful for the good days , the okey moments , the joy feelings , the bright & glimmery & expansive moments , the breaths of inspiration . cuz , even thru grief , all that will come .
“ I realized that I needed (and wanted) to start holding big space for how many versions of myself I’ve had to let go of and grieve to truly change, heal, and grow.” Phew. I mean... this sentence gave me a space I didn’t even know I needed. Thank you, Alex
A group of women I meet with to study, converse, and deepen community dedicated November 2022 to starting and keeping a gratitude journal. I added four gratitude entries on my Substack this month.
Although I have grieved many things and relationships, I hadn't added that specific journey to my journal. Thank you so much for sharing your heart, and encouraging readers on their "grief & gratitude" journeys.
What grief taught me is that I can continue breathing, I can continue living, and not only living (existing), but I can continue to find peace and joy despite the sadness. I can continue to find new things and relationships which don't replace the ones lost, but bring a newness and richness into my life when I open myself to receiving them. Melancholy and miracles. I still mourn a significant loss from 23 years ago, however, cherished memories now fill the mournful spaces, and I am grateful for the love I received from my deceased loved one.
My grief teaches me to be still in my space, to feel my emotions, to let my tears flow, to reflect on where I have forgotten who I am; and with that being said I am still on the process of finding myself, finding my purpose. Grief has shown me gratitude. To be grateful for life, for the little things, for grace.
Grief taught me that the pain may never really go away, but somehow, you have dance with the pain and it can make the dance more soulful and beautiful.
Grief has taught me how grateful I am, regretfully retrospectively, for the moments I wasn't fully present — often spent planning the next best, sparkly thing.
It has taught me to slow down, to savour, to linger. To fixate on recording each breath in that second, whether I feel grounded or afloat, rather than filling in the steps that I skipped when left longing to re-experience it.
Grief has shown me that "one day, I will be grateful for this." This? Any instance that made me feel immense joy and when love engulfed me, like going to my childhood home to the dogs erupting with glee and dancing in the living room with my sister and friends. Any time spent bitching about my supposedly mundane walking route or the snow. The busy weeks, deadlines and days make it unbearable to peel myself out of bed. There's matter in it all.
Grieving the could-and-should-haves has taught me to be grateful to be a dreamer. Amidst loss is an abundance of impromptu journeys and destinations I have met.
The cells that form me are filled with gratitude and grief. There's space for both. Without one, I wouldn't experience the other so intensely.
My grief taught me that although I'm not where I want to be, I must not forget to catch my breath.
I love how you said "I can hold onto more than one feeling at once." I think this is true with thoughts as well, however many of us have been programmed to think that we can only love, not hate, only be black, not white...when the world is all shades of gray, where we're constantly going through the fog of our mental war, unraveling the web of possibilities.
my grief is forcing me to be grateful that I still have fight in me.
Grief has taught me that there is hope and time will heal. It has taught me that I can move through life and still grieve because it will always be there. It's how you deal with it that matters.
My grief has taught me that it can be a really hard day but that I can find gratitude in my breath. My grief has taught me that I can find gratitude in being able to take things one minute, one hour, and day at a time.
On August 5, 2022, my youngest son suddenly died of an overdose of meth laced with fentanyl. He was 24. The grief sometimes can be crushing. But at the same time, I am grateful his mentally ill mind is at peace now. Free in the grand Universe he believed deeply in. So I can relate to growth and grief co-existing.
I haven’t found a way to get over my aunts passing, it was this year May. Ever since her funeral I find it hard to smile, I want to stay in bed and I’m never present, my mind constantly goes to sadness whenever I’m around people and I can’t hide it anymore.
But I believe in God and I know he will deliver from this eventually.
My grief taught me that there are good days and there are bad days. That’s how life always will be. My gratitude taught me show up for myself especially when I didn’t feel like showing up. Together, they taught me that it’s possible to feel both heartbroken and healed at the same time.
Grief taught me that life goes on. I had to let go of a certain life goal this year to save myself from the constant disappointments that followed everytime I tried to achieve it. It was tough, and I was just filled with so much sadness, but I told myself that choice was better for my mental health.
13 years ago on Thanksgiving my best friend (who also was my mother) passed.
This weekend of thankful reflection I have used to grieve relationships that no longer are in my best interest. Thank you for providing me the insight to move forward to live a life that is healthiest for me.
what grief taught me about gratitude ? to be grateful for the good days , the okey moments , the joy feelings , the bright & glimmery & expansive moments , the breaths of inspiration . cuz , even thru grief , all that will come .
“ I realized that I needed (and wanted) to start holding big space for how many versions of myself I’ve had to let go of and grieve to truly change, heal, and grow.” Phew. I mean... this sentence gave me a space I didn’t even know I needed. Thank you, Alex
A group of women I meet with to study, converse, and deepen community dedicated November 2022 to starting and keeping a gratitude journal. I added four gratitude entries on my Substack this month.
Although I have grieved many things and relationships, I hadn't added that specific journey to my journal. Thank you so much for sharing your heart, and encouraging readers on their "grief & gratitude" journeys.
What grief taught me is that I can continue breathing, I can continue living, and not only living (existing), but I can continue to find peace and joy despite the sadness. I can continue to find new things and relationships which don't replace the ones lost, but bring a newness and richness into my life when I open myself to receiving them. Melancholy and miracles. I still mourn a significant loss from 23 years ago, however, cherished memories now fill the mournful spaces, and I am grateful for the love I received from my deceased loved one.
My grief teaches me to be still in my space, to feel my emotions, to let my tears flow, to reflect on where I have forgotten who I am; and with that being said I am still on the process of finding myself, finding my purpose. Grief has shown me gratitude. To be grateful for life, for the little things, for grace.
Grief taught me that the pain may never really go away, but somehow, you have dance with the pain and it can make the dance more soulful and beautiful.
Grief has taught me how grateful I am, regretfully retrospectively, for the moments I wasn't fully present — often spent planning the next best, sparkly thing.
It has taught me to slow down, to savour, to linger. To fixate on recording each breath in that second, whether I feel grounded or afloat, rather than filling in the steps that I skipped when left longing to re-experience it.
Grief has shown me that "one day, I will be grateful for this." This? Any instance that made me feel immense joy and when love engulfed me, like going to my childhood home to the dogs erupting with glee and dancing in the living room with my sister and friends. Any time spent bitching about my supposedly mundane walking route or the snow. The busy weeks, deadlines and days make it unbearable to peel myself out of bed. There's matter in it all.
Grieving the could-and-should-haves has taught me to be grateful to be a dreamer. Amidst loss is an abundance of impromptu journeys and destinations I have met.
The cells that form me are filled with gratitude and grief. There's space for both. Without one, I wouldn't experience the other so intensely.