GRIEVE AND GROW
Donna j. Mann
Grief is itself a medicine.  ~William Cowper, Charity

There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go.  ~Author Unknown
                    Grief


Grief is like a jagged rock
that you bury deep in your pocket,
Its sharp edges forcing you
to take it out
and examine it from time to time.
Even when you don't want to.
And when it is too heavy to carry,
you must ask a friend to hold it so you can rest.
As time passes it is a little easier to take the rock out of your pocket.
It doesn't seem to weigh as much.
Now you show it to a circle of friends and, occasionally, even a stranger.
One day you pull out the rock
and surprisingly, it doesn't even hurt.
For the edges are no longer jagged, but smoothed out by time, touch and tears.

             Author unknown
GRIEVE & GROW BL
Grief is not a disease. It is not an emotional problem or dysfunction. It is not something to avoid. Grieving is a very normal response to personal loss. It is natural. It is a process. And it is the best medicine when living through loss and tragedy. As we understand this, we realize that we wouldn't want it any other way. We want to grieve when a loved one dies, simply because we have loved. We want to grief when we leave a beloved home or property because it means a lot to us. We want to grieve when our status in life is not longer the same. What we don't want to do is suffer. When we grieve well, we do not suffer.

Although the topic of death has not been discussed or explored until the last twenty or so years, the acknowledgement of the pain of grief is not new. Perhaps we haven't been as willing to discuss the causes as we've been able to feel the consequences.

If you feel comfortable seeing the grief process as stages and steps, do whatever works for you. On the other hand, if you see grief as an overall experience from the time of loss to healing, then that will be the way for you to go. I have come to the conclusion that time does not heal .   it's what we do in the time that heals.

I hope this website and the resources within it will help you to move through the process of grief in ways that you feel comforted,and challenged.

The Blog is new: Come with me as I touch on different ways to experience grief in healing ways.

Yes, this is a new grief website, launched April 15th, 2010. If you are looking for the old familiar one, you can still find the first page. (see address below) The Guest Book on that site is too precious to leave behind. Everything else that you've been used to, is here on this site . . . and more.