We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, “Blessed are they that mourn,” and I accept it. I’ve got nothing that I hadn’t bargained for. Of course it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.
― C.S. Lewis
How has your own grief opened you to compassion for the grief of others?
Mourning may be different from grieving. The acute moments of grief are sharp and sometimes unacceptable. Mourning, to me, is the long process of loss that gradually is understandable. I don’t use the bible quotation to understand mourning by myself or others. I try to understand the level of human development that has evolved to understand human losses. Yes, I do try to put myself in others’ shoes but I look at what the human race has not learned yet in a physical sense and know that it is best that we accept events that sadden as they come with hope for a more successful evolution in the future.
I have dealt with a lots of loss ranging from losing pets to losing my career to losing my dream of living on an acreage surrounded by animals to losing my soulmate. I have found that I mourned each of these as they happened, but the grief I felt/feel continues to surface, probably like a spiral. I grieve the same losses, but feel less pain and hurt each time I come around on the spiral. Going through this has made me more compassionate for others. I can be there for them in just a quiet understanding, offering support, providing a shoulder to lean on, and sharing my own personal experience.