Dealing With Loss

“Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms you would never see the true beauty of their carvings” - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross h

For most of us the experience of loss - be it of a loved one, a job, a pet, a home, a favorite object – leaves a void in our lives. How we deal with that void is a of vital importance. To a-void the feelings associated with loss by filling the empty space with busyness, new ventures, relationships or drugs is like trying to shield a canyon from the windstorms, rain, and changing weather patterns that create its unique carvings.
Two things stand out for my five intense days with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1983. The first is the large mattress and length of rubber hose at the center of each gathering of sick or terminally diagnosed patients, caretakers, ministers and social service professionals. As participants were so moved, they were invited to come to the mattress and beat, yell and scream our their anger.
Most us know that prayer, forgiveness and compassion are important in dealing with loss… but anger? Kubler-Ross believed that if every home had a screaming room, there would be no more wars
The account of how she first got interested in the work it the second thing that stands out. As a student in Switzerland after World War II, Kubler-Ross served as a volunteer cleaning out Nazi concentration camps. Inside the children’s barracks located within a stone’s throw of the crematorium, the walls were covered with drawings of butterflies. Those children, so close to death, knew that death is not an ending, but a freeing of our ete
al spirit from the body, the cocoon of our spiritual growth.
Whenever you experience a loss, take time to express ALL your feelings. There is no such thing as a bad or wrong feeling. Remember that sadness, fear, anger and joy are simply part of the weathering process that hones the beauty of our souls.