Dealing with Loss

From time to time, we have to deal with the loss of loved ones, jobs, pets, homes, our health and fitness, and many other things that hold meaning to our hearts.  It is difficult, and we can expect to go through a period of mourning the loss, regardless of what it may be.  There is little we can say except to understand that this is a part of life and that it will happen.
All too often we feel as if we are in control of our lives.  The most difficult thing, then, when we feel loss, is that we have no control over the loss: when it will happen, where, and how it affects our lives and the people we love.  It is the loss of control that may seem the most disturbing to us, aside from having something or someone taken from us who makes our lives better.
What happens, then, is important.  It is greatly necessary that we allow ourselves to mourn.  Mourning allows our hearts to heal, allows us to go through the various stages that Psychology tells us to expect.  These take us from denial of the loss, or sometimes the importance of the loss; through anger, sometimes anger with God for allowing this to happen; bargaining to bring back what has been lost; and finally, resolution of the loss and acceptance of having to live our lives and move on.  While everyone experiences mourning in different ways, it is important to allow the process so that healing can occur.
The rituals of our society help us to heal and remember the people we have lost.  Funerals allow us to pay our respects and memorialize our lost loved ones.  Some people set up shrines with pictures, mementos and journals that remind them of the person who has been so special in their lives.  Most faiths dedicate ways in which our lost loved ones are honored and direct our belief in their continued existence on another level or plane.  All of these things are comforting.
If you find yourself having difficulty with some kind of loss, perhaps gathering pictures, objects, papers, and anything else that may be related to the loss into a special box that you have decorated to remind you of whom or what you have lost, then put the box aside, taking it out once a week to review your feelings.  You may want to keep a journal of what you feel over time.  You may find that you take the box out less frequently.  That is all right.  It is a sign of healing.  In time, you may find you don’t need to look in the box at all, except for special occasions, such as the anniversary of the loss.  This, too, is a sign of healing. 
May you be richly blessed.