Grief and Gratitude

I loved this passage by Francis Weller:

“The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them. How much sorrow can I hold? That’s how much gratitude I can give. If I carry only grief, I’ll bend toward cynicism and despair. If I have only gratitude, I’ll become saccharine and won’t develop much compassion for other people’s suffering. Grief keeps the heart fluid and soft, which helps make compassion possible.”

– Francis Weller

There are many moments in my daily life of missing my parents. I am reminded of my mother in so much of what I do, I often think of what my dad would say; my day to day movements are infused with my love for them and my grief that they are no longer living. But I have also noticed that with those thoughts comes a grounded sense of gratitude and I am forever thankful to have received their love and influence. That is, I suppose, the act of carrying both grief and gratitude 🙂

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