Companionable Grief

Hi, Friends. I want to share something with you I discovered recently in my own grief journey…. But first, I’m going to share a poem I read today. (See photo.) Two weeks ago on one day I had two people who brought my grief full face before me. One was an older gentleman, long retired and caring for a disabled wife. I had not seen him since before H. Michael and he asked, “How’s Bill doing?” Covid’s chaos hid the fact of Bill’s death from some who were busy getting through it themselves. He apologized profusely and expressed his sympathy. Then later in the day another friend I see several times a week asked me out of the blue, “How are you managing with the grieving process now?” That was the day I realized that Grief was no longer leading me along the path of my life, but that I had resumed full authority over my emotional life again. Grief now is a quiet companion who rarely intrudes on my day to day coming and going. She hasn’t left. She never will. And that’s fine. She’s become a comfortable companion I can talk to when I choose. But she no longer is leading me.