"Happy ?" New Year

2013 has begun. . . . whether we were ready for that or not. 

The truth is grieving can make all changes difficult . . . even good ones.  In grief the resources we need to adjust to every change that comes our way can become diminished.  The energy it takes to mourn the loss of someone we love uses all those reserves, so we stand at the threshold of a new year with mixed feelings.  Yes, it is good to start fresh.  Last year was so full of struggle and sadness that a new year triggers a glimmer of hope that we desperately need.  And yet, our loved one will not be part of this year and something inside us doesn’t want to live in a year without them.   

One thing to keep in mind as 2013 emerges is that maybe we are being given an opportunity to begin to live more simply and with a more focused intentionality on what is truly important in life.  After all, loss has a way of jerking us awake to what matters and shining a bright light on what doesn’t. We quickly grow clear about that. We see and know what is precious.

Etty Hillesum says it so beautifully:   

“We have embraced a new reality and everything has taken on new colors . . . There now flows a constant stream of tenderness, a stream in which all petty desires seem to have been extinguished. All that matters now is that we be kind to each other with all the goodness that is in us.”  

                                                                             (from The Interrupted Life)