Good Morning, this Monday 8th January. The weather is cold but lovely and sunny here in Ireland. I want to continue today with a brief look at grieving, which is or will be part of our lives. When I mention sunshine, I am very well aware that when we are grieving, the sun does not shine for us, and I am bearing this in mind for those of you who are on this painful road right now.
If grief refers to loss, mourning refers to the process that follows loss. It is often used interchangeably with grieving. Most of the writers on grief explore what they call the circle of grief, which is a range of feelings that the survivor experiences, starting with disbelief and ending with acceptance. One excellent author, William Worden, gives another helpful perspective that might be useful for those who have suffered, or are suffering, losses. he refers to the four (painful) tasks of mourning- (1) to accept the reality of the loss, (2) to work through the pain of grief, (3) to adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missing, and (4) to emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with life. I suppose, given the terrible pain of mourning, the word ‘task’ may sound a little harsh. So let us remember how painful it is for us to meet those tasks. I will explore them in later postings.
Tags: bereavement, grief