Healing After Loss

FEBRUARY 1

The man who removed mountains began by carrying away

small stones.

—CHINESE PROVERB

How do we start picking up the pieces, rebuilding our lives,
after we have sustained a grievous loss?
We won’t be able, probably, to undertake major new
ventures for a while. But a single step will help, will signify
to our inner self that our investment is in life, not in endless
grief.
A friend tells me that after she began sewing some new
clothes for herself, she began to feel better. It was an invest-
ment in living.
It was only a beginning, but I remember the moment in
the grocery store when I decided to “look cheerful” instead
of carrying around the glum face I had worn for weeks. It
was a very small thing, but evidently important. Otherwise
I wouldn’t remember it after almost twenty years.

I will take a small step—just one. In my mind’s eye, perhaps I can
see my loved one nodding in encouragement—“Yes. Go on. You
can. I am with you.”