Grief is the emotional response to loss, particularly the loss of someone or something significant, such as a loved one, a relationship, a job, or even an ideal. It encompasses a wide range of feelings, including sadness, anger, confusion, guilt, and loneliness. Grief can also manifest physically and socially, affecting one’s behavior and relationships.

Grief is not just a series of events, or stages or timelines. Our society places enormous pressure on us to get over loss, to get through the grief. But how long do you grieve for a husband of fifty years? A teenager killed in a car accident? A four-year-old child? A year? Five years? Forever? The loss happens in time, in fact in a moment, but its aftermath lasts a lifetime.

We think we want to avoid the grief, but really it is the pain of the loss we want to avoid. Grief is the healing process that ultimately brings us comfort in our pain.

"Moving on" is a controversial term. Many people prefer to think of it as integrating the loss into their lives. The person who has passed or the event that has occurred remains part of you, but with time, the intensity of the pain usually softens, and you find a new normal.