Recently I was given the opportunity to wrestle with a concept that can be foreign to a large number of individuals across the globe. The concept that I wrestled with was a discussion on the nature of us as human beings being both material and immaterial. That being that as a human we have a physical make up while also having a metaphysical component to our state of beings. Many consider the physical as the body that we live with day in and day out that may get exercised, injured, healed, or diseased. While the metaphysical component could be labeled our soul or spirit.
Regardless if you believe this theroy or not, I would like us to wrestle and hopefully come to terms with the fact that we will all pass away one day! Many of us experience deep emotional hurt and pain in the loss of the people we share life with. However, these unpleasant feelings we have about those individuals are expected. I would argue that if there is not at least some period of mourning we have for the loss of a physical life then maybe we should take a deeper look into the relationships we have.
More important I think, is to move from a period of mourning into a period of celebration. Life is a treasure, but it's mearly a momment in time. Once we have had the opportunity to mourn a loss we should then also celebrate the life lived. Whether you are a person who beleives in an after life, a physical reincarnation, or simply a cease of existence we can all celebrate the joys of having and sharing life with an individual. I ask that you take some time out today and think of and remember the people who have come and gone in our lives. Mourn the opportunities we no longer will be able to have with them, but don't stop there. Take the next step and celebrate the joys shared through life! Who knows maybe through this when even come to a point healing we may have yet experienced.
I almost forgot. Here is a website that has number of media options you can go through to see some different forms of celebrating life. Enjoy!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.squidoo.com/CelebrateLife
I can definitely relate to having had times of mourning. For me, my deepest mourning has been at the deaths of a few family members, and close friends. I know that we all need to "work through our grief," but it was interesting to me that through all of my families grief it looked different for each of us and yet it definitely made us each ponder eternity. It wasn't a few weeks of mourning and then suddenly you're dancing and celebrating again, it is kind of all mixed together and the time table always seems to be different even for the same person through multiple grief bouts. I want to understand more about the grief process, and how to best walk with people in their unique way. I do believe that the Lord gives many their "dancing shoes" again...and heals in ways we never thought possible.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate what you had to say. Through the many losses I've experienced in my life, I've come to realize that simply mourning is not enough. I'm glad that you included the importance of treasuring life's precious moments and celebrating those memories even after the death of a loved one. As Christian counselors, we have the ability and responsibility to help those grieving to not only mourn but also to transition to see the good and treasure each moment - even in the midst of tragedy.
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