Being Mindful About Grief

In an article entitled “Mindful Grief: 3 Ways to Manage Your Sorrow” by Ashley Davis Bush and featured on GoodTherapy, we read about how to be more mindful about the grief process. Bush notes that we tend to have a tendency towards avoiding painful feelings which can lead to complications when we are actively grieving. I especially enjoyed reading the three thoughts she had in trying to give grief its due course:

1. Intention: Set your intention to welcome the feelings, to learn from them, and to be open to finding the wisdom embedded within the process.
2. Attention: Pay attention to the natural rhythms of grief. Notice the waves that ebb and flow. See grief rising and falling, washing over you and receding.
3. No tension: Suffering may be minimized to the degree to which you are able to drop your resistance to the feeling that ‘is’.

As you can see from these tips, we are trying not to avoid our painful feelings, but rather acknowledging their presence. It is okay to give ourselves permission to simply feel the sadness in the moment; have our tears, say our prayers, get an extra squishy hug from a loved one, smile at a memory (even through the tears), write our thoughts down in a journal. It is simply about allowing the active portion of grief to come in so as to go out; when we have given grief some space, we also experience the inherent sense of momentary relief and peace that tends to accompany it. 🙂

To read the full article: https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindful-grief-3-ways-manage-sorrow-080814

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@ann10