MAY 11
Out of every crisis comes the chance to be reborn, to recon-
ceive ourselves as individuals, to choose the kind of change
that will help us to grow and to fulfill ourselves more com-
pletely.
—NENA O’NEILLWe know that one does not come through a grief un-scathed.
What we sometimes don’t fully recognize is the power we
have, after the first grief has passed, to choose what we are
going to make of ourselves, bereft though we are.
In a way, we resist claiming this power. We are tired. We
don’t want to be held responsible. We are hurt. We want to
be taken care of, tenderly, not to be told we have to forge a
new beginning.
We all know of people who, after a devastating loss, go
on to reshape their lives in heroic terms. I think of Elizabeth
Gray Vining, whose husband died when they were both
very young, and who went on to become tutor to the Crown
Prince of Japan.
We have choices to make and, as survivors of crisis, we
have new strength, new power—if we chose to claim them.
“When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.”