January 14, 2024
“The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer someone else up.”
— Mark Twain
It was one of those days that she’d never forget. We all have them. Everything seemed to be going wrong, so Silvana picked up the phone to call her friend, whose son died at 16 in a car accident 20 years ago. Her friend was crying because it was her deceased son’s birthday, and he would have been 36. He was Silvana’s godchild. His mother told Silvana, “You know exactly how I feel today.”
“I do,” she replied, because she lost her own son 50 years ago at 7 years old from an incurable neurological condition. Some grief never goes away, and try as we may to make sense of it, we always come up short.
Silvana still remembers their last moments together in the hospital room before her son closed his eyes and left her. One thing, however, she was sure of. Her son was with them even after he left this world. She could sit for hours and tell you about the occasions she felt his presence and knew he was there, in her sadness and in her joy.
Grief is unique and yet grief is a common human experience we all share. It’s always good to remember, when you’re hurting and inconsolable, that there’s someone else who truly understands and will remember to call you on the bad days … someone who also has bad days and knows what they’re all about.
***
Be available for people who are hurting, and you will heal yourself.
Sign Up for Healing Journey Messages
Receive a daily message to your email address.