Moments with Mary

During the grief journey, it is important to take advantage of the earthly guides that are available to help us get through the difficult paths inside the journey.  We have to be extremely conscious not to overmedicate or count on drugs, alcohol or any other type of harmful coping mechanism to numb our bodies, minds and spirit.  Our thoughtful God ensured a wide variety of support to guide us through our grief.  There are physicians and medical professionals to attend to our physical needs, such as irregular physical maladies, exhaustion, sleep issues, eating distress, etc.  There are mental health therapists, counselors, social workers, art therapists and other professionals to support us through stress, depression, heartache, anxiety, mood disorders and other mental and emotional health issues.  There are spiritual guides such as chaplains, funeral directors, ministers, rabbis, grief counselors, etc. to guide us through difficult spiritual matters that come ou...

HEAVY BURDEN:  There are days during the grief journey where it feels like the weight of the world is sitting inside of you.  It’s the kind of weight that takes heaviness to a new measure because it’s a weight that makes the brain feel drained on top of an overwhelming heaviness of heart   And, on top of that weight, our spirit feels broken.  There isn’t enough energy to get up off the couch or remove self from the bed because the entire body can’t move.   There is an inner exhaustion regardless of no sleep or too much sleep.  Every part of who we are feels immobilized.  Grief has taken over and it feels like life has taken a huge step backwards and the weight of grief has left us…Weak.  Exhausted.  Tired.  Alone. How can loss weigh so much?  How can we find the energy to push through?  We go through the motions, but there doesn’t seem to be enough energy inside to give us reason to carry on.  We resist outside e...

It would be unusual not to have unresolved issues with our deceased loved one.  Actually, it’s almost a given.  After all, most relationships have points of contention or areas of disagreement or unresolved hurts.  The problem is that in the distant recesses of our memories, we still feel twinges of guilt or emotional hurts that keeps those unresolved issues from feeling completely at peace.  It is not uncommon in our human nature, as we tend to dwell on the negative aspects of our relationships versus the positive ones.    What will get rid of these unresolved feelings?  The best way is to get them out of the closet of your memories and process them either with a counselor or someone you can safely address them with who will honor your privacy and sense of self.  Working through these unresolved issues without the person directly involved (because they can’t be there in person to resolve them) doesn’t mean that those feelings inside of you have t...