The Journey of Grief

Yesterday we said goodbye to our 12 year old cat, Star. It was a difficult decision made easier because she let us know it was time to go and  it was still a sad day.

We aren’t very good with grief in our western culture. The stories many of us have been given is that grief is something you do in private, that it is only allowed for a period of time and then we are to get over it, that it has a finishing point.  Because these are the stories given to us and the ones we believe, we haven’t had the opportunity to witness or be witnessed during the grieving process, so it makes people uncomfortable with the vulnerability.

Grief doesn’t have an end because it is a journey, sometimes it is a rough overgrown pathway going uphill in the twilight, and sometimes it is coming to a beautiful meadow with the sun rising to greet you. You can choose to walk with your eyes downcast filled with tears, only noticing the roots and stones that make it hard to walk. You can also choose to let the tears flow, head up welcoming the experience of this journey because this is where you are.