Grief is an intense emotional response to the pain of a loss. Whether you lose a beloved person, animal, place, object, or a valued way of life (such as your job, marriage, or good health), some level of grief will naturally follow.

Grieving after a loved one’s death is also known as bereavement. Most important, grief is an emotional, spiritual, and psychological journey to healing. Grief must be externalized. Our pain and sadness can be fully realized only when we release them. For many, writing letters to their loved one is a convenient, always available way to get the words out and communicate.

Grieving is a personal experience. Depending on who you are and the nature of your loss, your process of grieving will be different from another person’s experience. There is no “normal and expected” period of time for grieving. Some people adjust to a new life within several weeks or months. Others take a year or more, particularly when their daily life has been radically changed or their loss was traumatic and unexpected.

Grief is the healing process of the heart, soul, and mind; it is the path that returns us to wholeness. It shouldn’t be a matter of if you grieve; the question is when will you grieve. And until we do, we suffer from the effects of that unfinished business. The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not “get over” the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal, and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again, but you will never be the same.

The power of grief means we have experienced life to its fullest, complete with the cycle of birth and death. We have survived loss. As Elisabeth Kubler-Ross said:

“Grief alone has the power to heal
 Grief always works
 Grief always heals
 That is the Grace of Grief
 That is the Miracle of Grief
 That is the Gift of Grief.”

-This article was lovingly authored by our friend, Rhonda-