Summer’s Guidance for the Grieving Heart

Dear grieving heart,



Surely summer is one of the hardest times to grieve. Everyone seems to be having such a good time. The sun gives its best rays, lakes are warm and crystal clear, people meticulously choose the perfect spot to get away. I am here to remind you that you need not forget your loss to partake in the gaiety.

I am favored for my slower pace, the fresh air waking up the cobwebs of the heart, and the endless outdoor gatherings that strengthen folks’ connection to each other. While the grieving heart has a natural inclination to avoid these for fear of betraying its loss, these are the perfect antidote for the grieving heart.

My summer flowers display it best. Every flower, like each grief is unique, growing in its own manner with a precise need of sunshine, water, and nutrients from the earth. So it is with your grief. Like a flower, it needs just the right amount of attention and love to grow into something meaningful. As a flower that gives pleasure to the eyes, a good grief reveals a deep and powerful love. Grief is a source of strength and wisdom to those who observe it because it is a symbol of a deep love experienced. Grief always reflects love and contrary to popular opinion, grief has no end, because love it eternal.

I remind you every grief needs a little “Marco Polo”. Who can resist listening to the joyous sounds of children jumping off a dock into a lake while yelling, “Marco” “Polo?” Such delights heal even the heaviest heart. Do not deny yourself the joys of my season, they will remind you of happier days while giving you new ones. No matter how deeply you feel a loss, you are still alive, and you need pleasures to nurture your soul.

Summer has taught me a thing or two, so I offer this advice:

• Vacations are an opportunity to let things lay fallow, even grief. A respite from anything gives the heart a fresh perspective.
• Often the very thing we resist is the very thing we need. It is also true that what we resist, persists. These maxims help you move with your grief not against it.
• Life can scorch you. Sunblock your heart from emotions and people that can char it. You know who and what these are, so protect your grief.
• Grief’s journey takes you over many waters. A lake’s water can be as smooth as glass or as choppy as percolating coffee; each is necessary to revitalize it, so it is with your heart.

“Even as you grieve, allow light to seep through the cracks, uplift, and illuminate a healing. Baby turtles emerge from the cracking of shells; new life can burst forth”.

-Laura Staley-