Grief is a natural emotion that follows death.  It hurts.  Sadness, denial, guilt, physical discomfort, and sleeplessness are some of the symptoms of grief.  It is like an open wound which must become healed.  At times, it seems as if this healing will never happen.  While some of life's spontaneity begins to return, it never seems to get back to the way it was.  It is still incomplete.  We know, however, that these feelings of being incomplete can disappear.

Healing is a process of allowing ourselves to feel, experience, and accept the pain.  In other words, we give ourselves permission to heal.  Allowing ourselves to accept these feelings is the beginning of that process.

The healing process can take much less time than we have been led to believe.  There are two missing parts.  One is a safe, loving, professionally guided atmosphere in which to express our feelings; the other is knowing how and what to communicate.