Bereavement Support Group
A Butterfly
A butterfly lights beside us
like a sunbeam.
And for a brief
moment
it’s glory and beauty
belong to our world.
But then it flies on again,
and though we wish it
could have stayed,
we feel so lucky
to have seen it.
Author Unknown
Have you ever noticed the many mixed-up emotions involved in grieving? On the one hand you feel restless. On the other hand you feel like you don’t want to move at all. You feel desperately alone, and yet you don’t want anyone around. You feel scatterbrained, forgetful, and yet, frantically meticulous. You feel like crying at nothing. And sometimes laughing at anything. Being in a crowd of people is fine, as long as they don’t talk to you. You feel as if nobody cares. You want so desperately for someone to mention your loved one, to remember the life that was. And yet it can make you furious if all they want to talk about is the one that died, and never mention the living ones.
Grief settles over you like a hot blanket, yet you are as cold as the winter snow. Grief presses on you like a steam roller. You’re floating in a bubble above yourself. Grief boxes you in on four sides and introduces you to a pain no one should have to know. But then once again, you begin to feel compassion. You relate to others who have had an experience similar to your own.
And eventually, with a light as bright as a sunburst, you hear yourself saying your loved one’s name, with an unfamiliar smile on your face. You remember some of the funny times, and you feel laughter building in your throat. One morning you notice the sun is shining, the flowers are bursting with the colors of spring. Three seasons have passed unnoticed. And somehow you are still here. Even though your loved one is still there…. You feel your heart swell with a love you never knew could exist. And you find a place in your life for something called, PEACE…. ?
And then ever so gently, the memories enfold you in a warmth, as soothing as a cool shower on a hot summer day.
So you want to remember. And tender memories of love lift you to unreachable heights, to the brightest of stars, to the loveliest touch of your loved one.