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orleans

(34,042 posts)
Tue Aug 14, 2012, 03:18 AM Aug 2012

"The Heart of Grief"

i just came across this and wanted to share it

"The experience of loss deprives us of a living presence, a loved one. Our daily lives are thrown in disarray. Our life stories careen off their expected courses. Our connections with the larger contexts within which we find meaning are strained. We feel devastated and helpless in the face of forces and events we could not control.

"We experience heartbreak and miss those we love terribly. We meet their absence everywhere. We long for their return. We feel joyless, hopeless, and as if life is drained of its meaning. We wonder whether we have the heart to live on without them. The courage and motivation to face the challenges of relearning the world we experience. The will to reshape our shattered lives, to redirect our life stories. The faith and hope to sustain us on the journey.

"We do not want to stop loving them. We rightly resist those who say we must. We know in our hearts that it matters too much to us and to those who died.

"The central challenge as we grieve is learning to love in a new way, to love someone in separation, at least as long as we walk this earth. Nothing is more difficult. Nothing is more important. Nothing is more rewarding."
--THOMAS ATTIG-- The Heart of Grief: Death and the search for Lasting Love (2002)

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"The Heart of Grief" (Original Post) orleans Aug 2012 OP
Thank you for this quote. Big Blue Marble Aug 2012 #1

Big Blue Marble

(5,056 posts)
1. Thank you for this quote.
Thu Aug 16, 2012, 01:17 PM
Aug 2012

"The central challenge as we grieve is learning to love in a new way, to love someone in separation, at least as long as we walk this earth. Nothing is more difficult. Nothing is more important. Nothing is more rewarding."
--THOMAS ATTIG-- The Heart of Grief: Death and the search for Lasting Love (2002)

That is our challenge. That is our work as we reshape our lives in the midst of chaos.
Love is the guiding principle of our lives. It takes many forms in the different stages of our lives.

And now we have entered a new stage. This perspective really helps me frame it.

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