We cannot protect what we do not love

And yet, all these things (and more) are unexpected gifts of tending to my grief. Again and again, people come to my circles looking for a way to ease the suffering in their hearts and leave with more love, acceptance and connection than they even knew they were looking for.

I can let my heart love everyone and everything around me with the full appreciation that tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

I can choose to love harder. I can pause and take in the absolute miracle of waking up this morning with those that I love and who love me. I can bathe in the beauty of life expressing itself and linger to watch, listen and smell. I can raise my eyes to the sky or take my hands to the soil and say thank you.

For too long our society has misinterpreted and misrepresented the vital role that grief has to play in our lives. We see grief as a problem that needs to be solved or a malaise in need of healing, but I am here to tell you just the opposite.

For too long our society has misinterpreted and misrepresented the vital role that grief has to play in our lives. We see grief as a problem that needs to be solved or a malaise in need of healing, but I am here to tell you just the opposite.

You may know that today we close #griefawarenessweek. It's been so beautiful hearing people's stories of grief and loss. No matter what form your grief comes in, I always find mirrors to my own experience. 

Grief itself does not hurt us; it is only the barriers that we put up against grief that cause us pain. My hope is that you don’t need this invitation, but just in case you do, I am here to tell you that your grief is a gift to this world and to give you permission to let your grief be as big as it really is. It is, after all, the evidence that your heart has dared to fully love.