April Intention: Grief

As we age we experience more in life, and oftentimes that ‘more’ is less when it comes to losing friendships, people, jobs, etc. The impact of grief can often feel overwhelming and misunderstood - especially when it isn’t categorized as a death of an individual in our life. But the reality is grief can be experienced even when death isn’t the cause. First, let’s start at the beginning with defining grief. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary grief is: 

grēf 

deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement. a cause of such suffering.

Traditionally grief is connected to the loss or death but as we’ve grown to understand our emotions better, we have been able to link grief to the loss of other losses. Many of us experienced loss during the pandemic – whether that be the loss of a job, the loss of friendships, even the loss of a stable and secure life – which has resulted in feelings of grief. This month we are going to explore grief and all its facets of how it can impact us – and most importantly, how we can show ourselves, and others, grace, compassion and love while experiencing grief.