It can be hard to imagine the mere possibility of living a full life after a significant loss such as a death or divorce, loss of health, retirement, job loss, etc. When someone or something was a major part of our lives and is gone, meaning and purpose often comes into question.
Grieving these losses is a bridge on the path to finding renewed meaning in life. In our culture we seem to think that we should just be able to move on and let go of the past but if we don’t first go back and find a place of peace with it, ‘moving on’ isn’t likely to be as easy as one might think.
Every significant relationship that goes through major change or loss, including the ones with ourselves, our work, our health, our homes is not only full of memories from the past but also with hopes, dreams and expectations for the future. So we are not only grieving what is no longer here but also what is no longer available in the form we are familiar with. This brings into question what we thought life was going to look like and what we assumed our path in life would be.
When we grieve mindfully and are willing to go back and deal with the emotional incompletes in any loss then we open the way to what is possible for us now and in the future. If we do not, we often get caught up in reliving the past, regret and a sense of meaninglessness.
If you find you are having a hard time moving forward in life consider the possibility that there is something you need to clear up from the past first. No matter what or when the loss occurred there is still something you can do about it.
