Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Understanding Grief

Last night Beverly and I traveled with two of our shepherds and their wives to North Dallas to hear Alan D. Wolfelt, an expert in the field of grief, on the topic "Understanding Grief: Helping Yourself Heal When Someone Dies." I want to explore his information more. But in this blog I am going to just share some random quotes:

"We do not "overcome" grief; we "surrender."

John Donne: "He who has no time to mourn has no time to heal."

"Pain becomes bearable when we are able to trust it will not last forever; not when we pretend it doesn't exist."

"'Whys?' precede 'Hows?'"

"Someone saying, 'You can't be mad at God' doesn't change you being mad at God. You just can't be mad at God in their presence."

"Funerals are not just celebrations (as is becoming "in" in our culture); they are memorials."

"Before counseling, remind yourself: 1. There is no reward for speed, 2. There is no desired outcome, and 3. Look for the divine moment."

"Death may not be the greatest loss of life. It could be what dies in you while you live."

"You must listen to the music of the past so you can sing in the present and dance into the future."

"When we admit our vulnerability, we include others. If we deny it, we shut them out."

"When you are sorrowful, look again into your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that in which was your delight." Kahlil Gibran



3 comments:

Jeff said...

Thank you for sharing those comments. I know they are thoughts you are pouring over and I know there are many others that will benefit from hearing them for their situations.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mona said...

Thank you for sharing this with us. It sounds like very helpful information. Too bad our society tries to sweep grief under the rug. We appreciate all of you sharing your thoughts with us during this time. It is helpful to us and hopefully helpful to you too.