Love is beautiful and life-giving but can also be cocooned in pain and heartache.
When we experience the death of someone we cherish, the love we have for them becomes intensely painful. Love that hurts so profoundly and deeply is called grief. Grief and love are intrinsically connected. Grief is love displayed in one of its rawest, most soul-wrenching forms.
The depth of our grief is determined by the depth of our love and relationship with the person who died. We sometimes feel guilty when we recognize we aren’t experiencing the same level of pain we experienced when someone else we love died. We feel we should be sadder, more heartbroken. It’s likely our relationship with the one we grieve more deeply was closer and more intimate. It’s natural for grief to be more difficult and hurtful when we lose someone with whom we have a very deep relationship.
The pain will become less intense over time if we embrace our grief and allow ourselves to truly process it. Contrary to what society teaches us, being strong isn’t ignoring our grief or quickly “moving on.” True strength is hugging the cactus of grief, experiencing the pain, and discovering ways to manage it, not run from it.
As we journey through grief, it’s important to remember love is both beautiful and painful. It’s also important to remind ourselves loving another so deeply is worth every ounce of pain we experience when we lose them. The beautiful pain of love is the gift we share with those we hold dear. What a privilege to love another so deeply!