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Gratefulness
Grief delivers a palpable weight of sorrow to our hearts, and the timing and lifespan of that visitation is mostly mysterious and unknowable. We are all vulnerable to grief and none of us can protect ourselves from it, nor should we try. As tempting as it would be to try to shield ourselves from the pain of heartache, it is precisely the heart’s aliveness and openness that allow us to feel the natural and necessary brokenness that comes from loss. The measure of our grief is a valiant testimony to our capacity to love. As Valarie Kaur so aptly says, “Joy is the gift of love. Grief is the cost of love.” Most often we attach the depths of grief to the personal loss of a loved one, a pet, job, home, etc. But we also know grief as the cost of loving and respecting life, our Earth and all its inhabitants, and our values; fairness, safety, justice, dignity. We suffer anguish when others suffer. The more we love, the more we courageously commit to walking through life thin-skinned; committed to the full range of how much the heart can feel.
Grateful Living can help remind us that it is precisely those things we appreciate and treasure most which open us to loss and grief. Gratitude and grief walk hand-in-hand. Living gratefully, we recognize the truth that we are offered no promises or guarantees, and there is little that we can “take for granted” besides this very moment. But to feel, live, and love fully anyway – in the face of this mystery – is to shape a life worthy of our biggest love, and the big heart of the world.
Send a Sympathy eCard
Browse our ever-expanding collection of eCards to share your love, care, and/or compassion, and make a meaningful difference to someone.
Light A Candle
Light a virtual candle in honor or memory of a loved one. Share your candle and message with others, or leave a mini-candle illuminated on your desktop.
Glory of plums, femur of Glory. Glory of ferns on a dark platter. Glory of…
He has flown headfirst against the glass and now lies stunned on the stone patio,…
For Josie On the day when The weight deadens On your shoulders And you stumble,…
to love life, to love it even when you have no stomach for it and…
Like a rain I feel but cannot see, the names of the dead, falling. Silences…
“I feel nature is the biggest teacher about resilience.” ~ Laura Loescher Laura Loescher describes…
a body is always a body individual or collective (whole or in many pieces) alive…
Quiet friend who has come so far, feel how your breathing makes more space around…
With lines unseen the land was broken. When surveyors came, we knew what the prophet…
When the light around you lessens And your thoughts darken until Your body feels fear…
For me, nature provides a unique opportunity to reconnect with the stillness inside, which is…
Today I will praise. I will praise the sun For showering its light On this…
“As life becomes harder and more threatening, it also becomes richer, because the fewer expectations we…
This virus has not only brought an illness; it has brought to light other illnesses…
…what if one impossible task of this moment is to learn to let go? ……
When after heavy rain the storm clouds disperse, is it not that they’ve wept themselves…
Gratitude emerges as my way to serve, to heal, to love. It’s been waiting for…
When I returned Noe to the earth and she sent her staccato of sweetness up…
You cannot erase history or grief or love, but we will always have this place….
With a mission of disarming hearts and forging peace, the organization is building a network…
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We are delighted to announce the release of Kristi Nelson’s book Wake Up Grateful