It’s National Grief Awareness Day…

What does it mean to be “aware” of your grief?

Maybe it is the courage to shed a tear. Maybe it is flipping through photos of your loved one that bring a lump to the throat. Maybe it is pausing to watch a butterfly dancing in the garden. Maybe it is walking up to a gravesite and placing a flower there.

What are you grieving?

Grief isn’t only about breath leaving the body.

Grief is the loss of a breast.

Grief is the door slamming on a relationship.

Grief is letting go of the dream you now know isn’t right for you.

Grief is moving out of a beloved neighborhood.

Grief comes in many shapes, sizes, forms, textures and tastes.

All of it is grief. Let no one tell you otherwise.

Honor your grief. Live it. Be it. Breathe it in and out. Then watch it take wing, and for a brief while you can rest.