We are a Grief Illiterate Nation

By Maria Shriver
Maria's I've Been Thinking
September 12, 2013

A Thought Worth Remembering

Don't Forget

On the anniversary of September 11, I always take a moment to reflect.

I’m convinced that grief and loss affect everyone, that we’re all grieving in one way or another. And the truth is: no one knows how to truly process those emotions.

I’ve said it many times before: we are a grief illiterate nation. We expect there to be a standard timetable for it. We don’t make space for it. We don’t feel safe talking about it. We want it to follow predictable steps and then for everything to get back to normal.

The result is that we try to bury our grief, medicate away our pain, and act as if it’s not there.  And yet it pops up in all kinds of ways and in places we least expect.

If you are truly awake in your own life, you are in touch with the loss you have experienced. And it’s no doubt painful. The best way to cope with it is to deal with it kindly, gently, and with the support of a community.

I hope we can use anniversaries like 9/11 and the upcoming one year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting to keep in our minds and in our hearts the knowledge that everyone deals with these feelings on a daily basis.

If we truly remembered that, we would be kind to everyone. We would be gentler with our fellow human beings and with ourselves.

We live in a fast-paced, tough and cold world. We don’t need to. By being more aware and awake, we can make a choice to be conscious, caring and compassionate to ourselves and others every day of the year.

Now there’s a thought worth celebrating, worth remembering. What are your memories

http://mariashriver.com/blog/2013/09/a-thought-worth-remembering/