You have become acquainted with grief. The upheavals and disruptions of life have made you familiar with sadness, conversant with sorrow.
Your grief has changed you, but it need not control you. Your sorrow has deepened you, but it need not define you.
You may have lost your way, but you are not lost. You may have broken down, but you are not broken. You may have died a thousand deaths, but you are not dead yet.
This is not a denial of your suffering. It’s an affirmation that your suffering is not you. You are not the pain. You are the presence, the conscious awareness in which the pain arises and then fades away.
You have learned the ways of grief. Now you will learn the ways of generosity and gratitude, grit and grace. You will grow deeper, wiser, more loving, and more compassionate.
As you discover who you are beneath and beyond your suffering, you will come to know the peace that passes all understanding. And you will find solace in your sorrow and grace in your grief.