MAY 13
Go in all simplicity; do not be anxious to win a quiet mind,
and it will be all the quieter. Do not examine so closely into
the progress of your soul. Do not crave so much to be perfect,
but let your spiritual life be formed by your duties, and by
the actions which are called forth by circumstances. Do not
take overmuch thought for tomorrow. God, who has led you
safely on so far, will lead you on to the end.
—FRANCIS DE SALESSo much goes churning through our mind when we are re-
covering from grief: our memories of our loved one, the
circumstances of death, how we felt and behaved at the time
of death and in the ensuing days. We want to be “good
grievers”—which may mean giving full expression to our
grief so it won’t stay there undigested in our hearts. Other
times a kind of numbness takes over, and we wonder about
that—What’s the matter with me that I can’t cry?
This taking of our emotional temperature can be exhaust-
ing. If we feel we are being too introspective, we can try to
shut that off for a while—go for a walk, watch some light-
weight television show, do something that requires mental
concentration so we don’t assess how our spirits are, moment
by moment.
I’m doing fine, just the way I am. Now I’ll forget about it for a
while.