Grief has a funny way of reminding you that it is never going away. It always manages to come when it is least expected. Watching your every move waiting for you to make one mistake. It’s always five steps behind you waiting for you to stumble so it can take control. It can surprise you on a beautiful sunny day, with a sky full of clouds and the breeze just right. Sitting on a blanket in the middle of a flower field – reaching down, you pluck a flower and then it hits you all over again. The thing about grief is the only way to defeat it is to accept that it will never pass. Grief is what keeps us whole; it balances out our life so that when we stumble we can get back up again. It is here to remind us that we are beings meant to love and lose; grief is the reflection of love but with no place to go. It’s a group of emotions trying so hard to stick together, but as with all things, it will eventually slowly break apart. With patience, your grief will shrink. It will never disappear but it will only be a hard pill to swallow, reminding you of your strength to overcome your struggles and live. Most importantly: your strength to still love. You can not have love without grief, just as you can’t know happiness without sadness. Your grief isn’t just the loss of someone important. It could be losing your favorite pencil, finally deleting those pictures, or losing a version of yourself that can’t be restored.

Don’t invalidate your grief, instead water it. Let it grow. Let it bloom. Because when it does, love will blossom from its petals and be pollinated in all areas of your life. Yes, you have lost greatly, but then it passed as all things do. It is never-ending which allows room for change; evolution. It is a passage through life; the price we all must pay to love.

So love. Love everything. Love the way the leaves catch the breeze, how every piece of fur on a dog’s head is placed “purr-fectly.” Appreciate everything and love it even more. Fight your grief with open arms. Hush it and tell it everything is going to be okay. Believe it will be and find your peace.