Letter to a friend

This is my path. It is not a path of my choice, but it a path I must walk mindfully and with intention. It is a journey through grief that takes time. Every cell in my body aches. I may be impatient, distracted, frustrated, and unfocused. I won't want to celebrate anything. I may get angry more easily, or I may seem hopeless. I will shed many, many, many tears. I won't smile as often as my old self. Smiling hurts now. Most everything hurts some days, even breathing. 

But please, just sit beside me. 

Say nothing. 

Do not offer a cure. 

Or a pill, or a word, or a potion. 

Witness my suffering and don't turn away from me. 

Please be gentle with me. 

Please, self, be gentle with me, too. 

-Joanne Cacciatore, Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief