mourning – when it hurts

After the initial days or weeks of a painful situation, it is important to begin thinking about what you are thankful for. It’s a choice. You may not feel it but do it anyway and watch what happens.

If you live in a culture that emphasizes self- indulgence (what you deserve or what makes you happy), you can get used to living by how you feel.

Taking a moment and considering the things that went right instead of only what went wrong has a physiological affect. Studies show amazing benefits to name a few- increased positive mood, a sense of belonging, better sleep, increased energy, and fewer incidents of illness.

According to WebMD, feelings of gratitude were at high levels after 9-11.

How can this be? When tragedies happen, things that really matter come into perspective.

When you’re hurting, I know you want to stay there. Many cultures practice a time of mourning the loss of a loved one by wearing dark or muted colors and withdrawing from social events. In Western culture, I think it would be good to revisit these practices.

Yet, there comes a time when we put away the mourning clothes and face the future with hope and optimism. Remembering what you are thankful for will put you in a hopeful and optimistic mindset.

You have the rest of your life to live!

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Photo credit: That Guy Who’s Going Places / Foter /Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Death will come to all of us.

The Bible calls it an enemy – an enemy that one day will be destroyed permanently.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Years ago, I think people dealt with death better than we do today.

The Encyclopedia of Children’s Health states: In 1900, children experienced firsthand, seeing a loved one die on the farm or in the home. Then, two world wars came and children experienced death in the remote events of far off places. By the 1950s, though some children did experience the death of a loved one in the Korean War, these were few. Death became an abstraction, something children only read about or experienced in a movie or television.

Death was expected and accepted. Were they stronger? If so, in what ways?

Don’t misunderstand. They hurt like we hurt when a loved one died. But I wonder if our world today, with all its conveniences and hurry-up-and-get-going tendencies, have created within us an inability to accept the slow and inevitable processes of life. We have been groomed to fix, forge, and no, failure is not an option.

Just food for thought.

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Photo credit:

James Jordan / Foter / CC BY-ND