Burying a loved one does not mean doing the same to their memory or the love you have for them. That deep and fervent love carries on; it grows and thrives within. In fact, the deep ache or grief that comes with their loss, points to this.
Grief is love displayed in a raw, soul-wrenching form.
It reflects the love given and received. The more you love, the more you have to lose, and, as a result, the more profound the grief can be.
Connecting Love and Grief
The typical image of love is hearts and friends and family and romance. This is quite far removed from the immense hurt, sadness and despair of grief. Our theory is that when love has become so painful and unrecognizable in an atmosphere of pain, it gets labeled as something else — grief.
Love creates bonds, and these bonds are not easily broken. Hence, when you lose someone, it’s as though a part of you has been ripped away. The absence and emptiness that you feel is a direct result of love.
Grieving a Future that Could Have Been
When love, embodied in a loved one, is gone, a space that no one else can fill is left behind. Grief mourns the absence of the person lost, and also mourns the future that could have been. This encompasses the memories made, moments that won’t happen, the shared laughter and even whispered conversations.
Embracing the Grief
To love is to open yourself up to vulnerability, and with vulnerability comes the potential for loss. Grief might never fully go away, but as you process it, you will learn to appreciate the time you had, even as you learn to live without it. Grief may also teach you resilience, empathy, and the capacity to carry the love forward.