The holidays are over! The celebration season has come and gone! The people and the traditions are finished and the reality of starting this new journey alone is beginning to replace the busyness of the holidays. The emptiness and the silence may be your greatest fear and yet your greatest longing. When you are here at this crossroads, you may find yourself wondering what is next.
I encourage you to start looking beyond the holidays and share this life journey with others who are also finding their grief difficult, lonely, and isolating.
Here are 5 important questions to ask yourself while you look beyond the holidays to what might be next on this grief journey.
- Who are the safe people in my life? Those people who will not judge me, but will listen to me, pray with me, cry with me, and give me good counsel.
- Where do I find a safe community to talk about my lost loved one, to process my memories with the reality of my loss, and safely express my grief when I am ambushed by difficult emotions?
- How do I digest my feelings and thoughts in a healthy way and avoid the temptation to numb my emotions and pain when I am alone with my suffering?
- How do I find meaning and purpose in my pain and suffering?
- How do I honor my loved one’s memory while I wrestle with the difficult questions and directions that I need to take in my life now?
Intentionally balance spending time alone and with spending time with others in a healthy way. If you are unsure how to grieve in a healthy balanced way or you want to be in a safe community of people who can understand suffering, you might consider joining a grief group coming in February from Essentials 2 Grief Transformation and Oliver’s Funeral Home. We will be offering a variety of grief groups so you can grieve in a safe, encouraging, and dynamic community of people who understand grief, pain, and suffering. Watch for more announcements coming soon to the Oliver’s Funeral Home events calendar this month. Remember that “healing from loss happens in the context of community of others that understand your pain and suffering” (Grief Share.org).
Make it a point this winter to be with people who will support and care for you through your grief process.
Written by Kimberly Talmey
