Compassion, Winter 2020

Winter 2020 - Compassion | www.tcf.org.uk 22 Ok, yeah but that isn’t the point. “It is. Stop being all.....” All what? “I can’t think of a word… stop being all ‘Western 21st century human.’” What? “You know, ‘Western 21st Century human’. Inventing things to make you happy and using those things to make yourselves equally unhappy. You want it, you have it, you lost it, you want something else.... These are just pastimes. Look what is going on inside mum, and not what is happening on the outside. Be...‘politely ok.’” You mean....?? “I mean, it doesn’t matter that you didn’t say something to me publicly yesterday. I know that not a nano-second passes that you don’t involve me somehow into your life and I don’t need a ‘day’ to be reminded of it. Just like no one is fooled by you typing ‘bum’ instead of the other words that you want to use because you want to be ‘politely cross’. Come on. Let’s go and have some breakfast.” Ok, but James... “Yes?” Happy ‘International Son’s Day plus 1’, my darling. “Oh, you remembered! Thanks ma!!!!” Maria Ahern Grieving allows us to heal, to remember with love rather than pain. It is a sorting process. One by one you let go of the things that are gone and you mourn for them. One by one you take hold of the things that have become a part of who you are and build again. Rachel Naomi Remen We All Need to Grieve If we don’t allow ourselves to grieve, if we try to repress the dreadful pain of our child, grandchild or sibling’s death and busy ourselves so we don’t have to feel anything, we are not allowing ourselves to begin to heal.