Ichabod's Day

Beyond the seas Beneath the trees Beside the whispering well. There lives a maid An old, old maid Of whom my tale will tell. In times gone by, In great supply, Her life was strong and clear. Her wisdom shared, As others cared, She lived a life sincere . Then day by day  The curse, they say, Insidious appeared. So bit by bit, As favour quit, From view she disappeared. Now all alone She sits unknown  A trace of times gone by. To be again She waits in vain  And heaves a final sigh . This tale I tell, Please heed me well, And listen as you will. The sad maid thence Is common sense, She’s waiting for you still .

Grief is a normal emotion in response to loss. It doesnot just arrive with the passing of a loved one, it comes in many guises and forms and can be a response to  tangible and intangible life events such as  transitions, loss of role, relationship breakdown, moving home/job etc. Our reaction to grief can be influenced by many factors, in particular socio-cultural expectations with common phrases attached such as "be strong", "time heals", "keep busy" or even "it wasn't meant to be". These comments, whilst said by well intentioned friends and family, try to convince us that grief is a matter of the head rather than the heart and therefore rational thinking can overcome it. The fact that this is not possible can only add to feelings of inadequacy and impotence when going through the grief process. Ok, so I stated "grief process" however there is no one template fits all, every experience is unique to the individual experiencing...