Tag Archives: Death

Making Meaning of Grief

We all search for meaning in this life.

Searching for meaning is a healthy response to chaos, to things being unreal, or sometimes simply to the world around us. This year, living through a pandemic has led many of us to question the meaning of life, of death, of hatred and kindness – of so many things that we are experiencing. What is the sense in this? How am I going to make sense out of this?  How can I navigate my way through this time? There are many ways to find meaning, or to create meaning in our lives.

When we seek to make sense of things, of our life as a whole, we are essentially hoping to bring order to our lives.  We seek to achieve or maintain a healthy balance. Unfortunately, life is often messy and disordered and a tremendous effort is often needed to bring life into balance.  Creating meaning in our lives, is foundational to making sense of life.

What is meaning? I like to think of it as a sense of purpose – a reason to live. Perhaps essentially it is what gives us the opportunity to make our world a better place. There are many ways to find or create meaning in our lives – whether through joy, gratitude, connecting with other people, physical responses, how we take care of our bodies, why we take care of our bodies, how we nurture ourselves and so many more.

Together, we can identify ways you may find meaning in your life. Working together with a trusted therapist, you can discover your personal strengths, talents and longings. You can learn to recognize what resonates with you, as you use the  meaningful  choices that you make to help you make sense out of some of lives most difficult challenges.

On Death and Grief

When someone you love dies, every facet of your life changes. Death is not a singular experience.

It is not simply one isolated moment in time – it is a heartbreaking event that will change your life forever.  Death is the very definition of a surreal experience and oftentimes rational explanations are no longer possible. The randomness or senselessness of death only adds to the sorrow it brings into our lives. The loss feels insurmountable. 

How can this loss be survived?  Losing someone we love breaks our hearts and in so doing, impacts every facet of our being. Surviving this loss will be enhanced by finding ways to bring meaning to our lives, which have now been permanently altered in ways that we did not choose. 

When you are caught in the vortex of excruciating pain, loneliness, perhaps fear and confusion, it is important to ground yourself in what you know and what is fact. Every facet of your life is affected by the death of someone you love. Now more than every you need to create and hold onto meaning in your life. Familiar surroundings and people you can trust and are comfortable with, will provide you with a safe place, where you can begin your journey through grief.

None of this easy but together, we can begin.