https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/1393174595828/?jwsource=cl

The Holiday’s can bring up many difficult memories and can accentuate grieving. It is a time of heavy societal expectation and, a time to ‘rejoice’ with your family and friends. Well, things aren’t always perfect; family members fight, pass away and friends can disappoint, our health can be fickle. Grief has a way of finding us, no matter the season, it just becomes that much more poignant and painful when the expectation of a joyous season is on us, grief doesn’t know this though. Grief is an experience of the past, a pain that follows us into the future, indefinitely. I believe that one of the best ways to lessen, albeit not dissolve, grief is to be with others. That is to say, share yourself with others. This requires an acknowledgement of the initial desire to seclude oneself, and then an intention to exercise control. When we isolate ourselves, like grief wants us to, we go deeper into the state. This can be very therapeutic, to be embraced by grief is an act of acknowledging our own suffering which I believe is crucial to coming out the other side. However, we need to come up for air. This holiday season, take an intentional small break from your grief; visit a person who matters, offer a gesture of kindness, step outside of yourself, even for a moment and come up for air.