What can grief teach us?

            Grief is one of the most difficult emotions that we experience as human beings.  It can feel so heavy and endless at times.  However, when we grieve, it can be a testament to what we lost, and we would be sad if it were not there.  To help yourself process the grief, it can be helpful to think about what you have learned from it.  One of the most common things people say when someone has passed is that life is short.  That can be a great lesson with grief that can help you recognize that your life is not infinite.  As saddening as that can be if you focus too much on it, hopefully, it can help you appreciate the life you have left to live. 

            As you appreciate the life you have left to live, it can be helpful to think through what is important and what is not.  There might be things in life that you realize through your grief are extra important to you.  After you experience the grief, hopefully, you can work towards cherishing those important things.  Focusing on the here and now can be helpful to allow yourself to pick up on the important things in your life.  Being more present in your life can also help life slow down some and keep it from passing you by. 

            As you experience grief and realize what is not important, try to make actionable changes with that.  It can even be helpful to think about the person you lost and any lessons you can take from their life.  For example, if the person made a pivotal change in their life at some point, that could be an important lesson of allowing yourself to embrace change in your own life.  These kinds of changes will feel scary and somewhat risky, but try to think about the impact of the change on your life.  Grief can be so overwhelming and heavy to deal with, but if you can try to think of some actionable takeaways for your own life, it can be a beautiful thing.