The importance of love when it’s wrapped within a loss… some timely Valentine’s thoughts…
Our sense of who we are in the world is undoubtedly shaped by the relationships that we move between however when our loved one dies, we can still be influenced by their identify and the impact that they made on us.
Our love for someone that has died, doesn’t have to stop with their death. Imbued memories, honoured rituals and opportunities for ongoing emotional connections can all offer grief a home that is both nourishing and restorative.
Continuing to love your person, even though they are no longer physically here, often allows individuals to honour the relationship and to preserve its emotional essence.
Grief is a lifelong process with no expiration date; continually changing as the days, weeks, months and years go by. Feeling connected to our person can be supported by the ongoing continuing bonds we are able to cultivate and develop to them.
Finding meaning in a connection; a song, a meal or an activity can bring both deep joy and utter sadness. The bittersweet nature of grief’s offering is often raw and visceral.
The bonds we hold with our loved ones can serve as a bridge between our bursting heart and the new reality of life without them.
Fostering these connections fuelled by love, is a poor second to a known different reality, but in the face of such a loss, finding a channel for it to flow through can offer us a connection that we might not have even realised, was possible.
Inspired by: The impact of Continuing bonds following a bereavement: A systematic Review by H. Hewson, N. Galbraith, C. Jones and G. Heath from the journal, Death Studies: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07481187.2023.2223593#abstract
