From Grief to Gratitude

As we approach Thanksgiving, I have been reflecting on, what in my life am I truly grateful for? And the one thing that resonates on the deepest level is my roots. I think about my ancestors I never knew, yet their blood runs in my veins. I think about my grandparents and the values that were taught to them and then my parents and then my generation. These are all gifts that were given to me, not based on anything I did other than be born into a certain lineage. It is my roots that helped inform who I am, it is my roots that hold me steady when things rage around me. 

My last grandparent passed a few months ago and there was something especially sad about the end of a generation, but then I look around me and see how a new generation is emerging, literally right before my eyes. The cycle of life. Life can be filled with so much grief, and so much gratitude, and there is room for it all.  

One of my all-time favorite books is Healing through the Dark Emotions: The Wisdom of Grief, Fear, and Despair by Miriam Greenspan. Greenspan talks about when someone we love dies, a part of us dies too. She says, “The gift that grief offers us is the capacity to see deeply into the way things are. Life is limited. We are here for a short time. Grief asks us to know this, not only in a disembodied, cerebral way, but in the marrow of our bones.” She believes that looking into the face of death offers us the gift of gratitude.

Whether this holiday season finds you with grief or gratitude in your heart, welcome the experience of being alive and human.