Grief: The Great Awakener

A week or so before the COVID-19 virus was declared a “pandemic”, I began to weep nightly.  This weeping arrived organically and with purpose.  It continues to support me in “wringing my heart out” from all I collect in my awareness and from all I'm feeling into happening in our world.

I welcomed this nightly ritual like a good friend showing up to companion me through a hard time.  It alerted me to the fact that I was in a grief response. 

This prompted my curiosity to notice other signs of grief.  My willingness to be more present to my experience brought all of those familiar feelings and physical experiences connected to loss forward. There was extreme fatigue, regret, deep sorrow, brain fog, lack of joy and fear to name a few! (Perhaps you are experiencing some grief responses, too?)

A big part of the regret that was heavy on my heart was that I had not completely fulfilled one of my soul calls.

While I have had the honor of supporting others through the dark and challenging passages of grief, to help them mend and reconfigure their broken hearts and lives, the pressing soul call not fulfilled was to help others (including myself) make peace with the hardest part of life which is that we and everyone we know will eventually, die.

Did you just get a shudder through your body and a quick reaction that made you want to stop reading? Ya, that’s called denial.

I feel a deep sense of regret and even some failure that I not only haven’t delivered the vital message I received after surviving the deaths of both of my parents by age 17, but I haven’t fully lived it!

The message was and is that life is a gift and time is precious and before we know it, we will be saying goodbye to those we love and we ourselves ultimately will be saying goodbye to this world, shedding our human bodies and continuing our journeys elsewhere.

For most of my life I’ve attempted to honor this realization and to choose a way of being that includes hope, optimism and to hold compassion and acceptance for all. I practice clearing my heart/mind/body of any resentments, forgiving, choosing joy, and visioning for higher possibilities often and do my best to be a better person and to bring my best.

But truthfully not at the level that I used to. Somewhere along my journey, the desire to live the message that came through the pain of great loss faded out. 

Not completely, but like most gifts, we eventually stop valuing what we have received.

The message and the gifts that came with it, that I tucked away long ago and never delivered in the way I had intended and felt called to, has returned with great intensity and urgency.  

This wake-up call hasn't just come for me, it has come for all of us! We are being called to wake up out of our cozy slumber of denial and accept that we have limited time here.  Limited time to love, to grow, to course-correct, to learn, to nurture our potential and to contribute to the betterment of our world by sharing our unique gifts and living from purpose.

We are in a collective “time out” of sorts. What if we embraced it as an opportunity to reset, restore, and to rise up with repurposed purpose?

Not with fear and worry, but rather with awareness and appreciation for the gift of life and for the choices that we still have available to us in each and every moment. 

Choices that lead us in new directions towards new and higher possibilities while we still have time. And as long as we have breath, we still have time!

Who is with me in believing that now is the time to commit to doing our deeper inner work, to connect to our soul’s wisdom, to give ourselves permission to start again and try again? 

To reset our regrets with compassionate action on behalf of our lives and our purpose for being here. To be willing to clear all that is in the way of our way like negative beliefs/patterns, self-doubt, resentment, judgment of self and others, and to do what is needed to heal. 

To rise up stronger, wiser and more fully available to experience the amazing gift of our lives and to share what we and only we have to contribute to the tapestry of our collective human experience.

I have such gratitude for one of my harshest teachers throughout my life, grief. Grief tenderized my being, expanded my heart, deepened my compassion and provided me with great empathy. 

My experience with grief and the appreciation of the gifts carved from the painful places on my journey makes it easier for me to accept this invitation to go through yet another transformational cycle. 

I trust that not only will we survive, but we also have a great opportunity to thrive. Especially if we are able to celebrate & honor the gifts and blessings along the way. 

Grief is a natural and normal experience that shows up right on time to help us adjust from life as we knew it to a “new normal” birthed out of our pain and sorrow and willingness to grow through the challenges we are presented with. 

I believe we are in a collective time of deep transformation. Grief is an ally that shows up to midwife us through the pains of rebirthing. It is initiating many people right now as well as reopening undigested sorrow from past losses. Grief will serve as helper and healer to anyone willing to use what is towards individual and collective healing and transformation.

An invitation to transform through grief arrives when we feel the ache of loss, feel dissolutioned, when our world feels uncertain and unfamiliar. It breaks us down, shatters what was and then takes all the broken pieces to create a mosaic of gifts like greater capacity, strengthened resiliency, expanded awareness, shifted perspectives, deepened purpose and many other well-earned gifts to carry us forward.

These gifts are not only for the one who surrendered to the grief journey. No, they are meant to be shared with others to help shed some light on dark moments and to help us all navigate the tough passages that come with this incredible journey called life. To inspire and support each other when needed.

I hope this message I received long ago that I am now called to share more profoundly has arrived right on time for you! 

May we embrace this gift of life and all that comes with it and every precious moment given, even and especially during this challenging time. It is all purposeful especially if we are willing to lean in with the intention to grow our potential, possibilities, and purpose. 

Reach for support when needed, especially if you are experiencing grief.  You are not alone! 

Soul Musings are just that, “musings”.  Not advice, just an exploration of my own journey with some transformational concepts sprinkled in to support others along the way!

To learn about Transformational Hypnotherapy, the "Soul Visioning" class or to schedule a private session of support with Victoria Jazwic, please visit:

http://www.sacredsoulvision.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Victoria-Jazwic-Transformational-Hypnotherapy-187428984601838/