“Sorrow digs the well and joy fills it.” ~Randy Peyser
When we are willing to do the hard work of grief—letting ourselves fully experience it and move through it—we expand our capacity to experience joy more deeply as well.
grief
Grief can be the garden of compassion
“Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom.” ~Rumi
Keeping my heart open in the face of grief is a challenge, but when I’ve been able to do it, the resulting growth has always been worth it. It truly can turn pain into an ally (albeit an unpleasant and unwelcome one) rather than an enemy.
How do you keep your heart open even in the face of grief?
Do not sit long with sadness
“Do not sit long with sadness, my friends. When you enter a garden do you look at the thorns or flowers? Spend more time with roses and jasmine.” ~Rumi
There are times when grief and sadness come to visit every life. At those times, it is important to feel the full measure of the grief and sadness that is there to feel so that it can move through us, but it is important not to stay there.
All lives share both thorns and flowers, and it can be easy to become so focused on the thorns—the challenges, trials, stresses, and pains of life—that we lose sight of the flowers blooming all around us. When make time to appreciate the flowers, we open ourselves to joy even in the midst of life’s thorns.
Loss makes artists of us all
“Loss makes artists of us all as we weave new patterns in the fabric of our lives.” ~G.W. Crosby
I love the idea of loss making us artists. Loss is hard and painful, but imagining the recreation of a new live after loss as the work of an artist weaving a new pattern brings some comfort and inspiration to the process. We’d all rather be weaving the same of patterns we knew and loved, but if those old patterns are no longer possible, we might as well embrace our inner artists and get creative with the new patterns we weave!