GRIEF

By Gwen Flowers

I had my own notion of grief,

I thought it was a sad time

That followed the death of someone you love.

And, you had to push through it

To get to the other side.

But I’m learning that there is no other side.

There is no pushing through.

But rather, there is

ABSORPTION

ADJUSTMENT

ACCEPTANCE

And grief is not something that you complete

But rather you endure.

Grief is not a task to finish,

And move on,

But an element of yourself –

An alteration of your being.

A new way of seeing.

A new way of feeling.

A new definition of self.

ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.