HOW TO HANDLE GRIEF

Grief is a common feeling of pain or regret or loss that we all will face at some point in our lives and the depth of our grief can be impacted by the depth of our love. When someone departs that we greatly love, it's normal to experience grief. However, that same depth of love can soothe a broken heart or a sobbing soul. Like many of you, I too have lost the earthly presence of a loved one. I had to take seriously my belief that love conquers all. It can even conquer grief.

We cannot change the past; we can only live in today. Don't add to your grief with words like "if only I would have... " You know what goes in that blank. Instead, replace regretful words with grateful words like "nevertheless" or "Although." Sure I could have told my loved one I loved her a lot more than I did, NEVERTHELESS, I did speak and show my love and she knew it.

ALTHOUGH I didn't do as much as I could have, I did a lot for her and I know that she was grateful. We can't change the past or bring back our loved one; NEVERTHELESS, we can live with gratitude for the love we had and for the life we shared. Don't let grief maintain endless control of your life. It is a process of deep sadness that should eventually come to an end. How you respond in the face of grief will determine how long it lingers.

With every thought of regret replace it with something to be grateful for. Gratitude is a feeling of thankfulness or appreciation. Make a list if you have to of all the things you are thankful for and have it readily accessible when thoughts of regret attack your mind. What did you appreciate about the relationship with your loved one? You don't have to help yourself feel anguish and sorrow that just happens by nature of the fact that you loved whoever departed this life. However, you do have to help yourself feel gratitude in times of grief.

Usually we relate grief to the pain of losing a loved one. But that's not the only kind of grief. When you realize that you've gone as far up the promotion ladder on your job as you're going to go, there may be grief over unrealized dreams. If you have to consider the possibility that you may never be a parent or grandparent, there may be grief.

When a spouse says, "I want a divorce," there may be intense grief. If your health begins to fail, there is grief over things you can no longer do. When life choices become more stressful than fulfilling, there is grief over wrong choices and missed opportunities. If your child has a handicapping condition, there may be grief about what he may miss in his life.
Everybody will experience grief along the way because life is not a bed of roses. It is important that we get over this feeling in other to forge ahead.. We can do this by developing a grateful spirit notwithstanding the pain we experience.

Yours inspiredly.

Please follow us on twitter@WeInspireNg