Grief is not just for death

I used to think that grief was reserved for the dead.
Yet I’ve always been hidden away from the dying.
I never learned how to grieve even for death and now I’m grieving for something else entirely…

I’m grieving the life I thought I wanted.
The one I held too tightly in my dreams.
The career I built my whole world around.
The identity I lost along with it.

I’m grieving the places I haven’t been.
The places that I have and the ones that I miss.
I grieve the last time that I do something or go somewhere, sometimes for the last times that have already passed without even realising…

I’m grieving the life I left behind.
But also the life that I’m still living.
I’m grieving the missed opportunities and the times that I let fear get in my way.

I’m grieving the beautiful cottage that became both my sanctuary and my prison.
That kept me safe and kept me isolated.
That held my heart and lost my soul.

I’m grieving the life that I could have had if I’d only let myself live it sooner…

I am overwhelmed with grief for so many things that aren’t death because grief is not just for dying.

Grief is the place we go to when we want to feel what it is like to miss the things we have had… and the things we haven’t.

It could be a person
It could be a pet
It could be a place
Or part of you that you’ve never met

Grief is more a feeling
A place to take a big deep breath
And remember all the little things…
It isn’t just for death.