Meditations for grieving: Jack Kornfield
It takes courage to grieve, to honor our pain.
Below are a few meditations to explore when experiencing loss or grief.
It takes courage to grieve, to honor our pain.
Below are a few meditations to explore when experiencing loss or grief.
When after heavy rain the storm clouds disperse, is it not that they’ve wept themselves clear to the end? —Ghalib Grief is one of the heart’s natural responses to loss. When we grieve we allow ourselves to feel the truth of our pain, the measure of betrayal or tragedy in our life. By our willingness to mourn, we slowly acknowledge, integrate, and accept the truth of our losses. Sometimes the best way to let go is to grieve. It takes courage to grieve, to honor the pain we carry. We can grieve in tears or in meditative silence, in prayer or in song. In touching the pain of recent and long-held griefs, we come face to face with our genuine human vulnerability, with helplessness and hopelessness. These are the storm clouds of the heart.
When great loss comes, the heart needs to grieve. We need to find a way to honor and tend our grief, to respect its deep feelings, its time and rhythms. This teaching and meditation can help.
The gate to human well-being and transformations swings open when we practice living with a grateful heart. When we find gratitude, we find freedom and love.
How can we move through our difficult situations with wisdom and graciousness? This meditation, one of my favorites, shows us how to do so in illuminating, empowering ways. It is almost always helpful.