A Grieving Heart· A Wounded Soul.

During one of my darkest moments, the universe blessed me with a beacon of light. A friend turned brother. I honestly didn't feel like I had a purpose during that period in my life but somehow, this friend the universe blessed me with proved to me that there is always something major out there for us all. The interesting part, he was also going through his struggles at the time but being neighbours, we both managed to pull through with each other's assistance. Given all that we experienced together, I would never want to see such a friend hurting, even in the slightest but “hurting” is one inevitable part of our existence.

Losing a parent can be devastating but losing a parent when you are at one of the lowest times in your life can be even more devastating. I spent a great part of yesterday trying to console a friend who lost his mother unexpectedly. Being a very jovial person, he tried everything to mask his sadness but I spent just a few minutes with him and I could see through the entire facade.

Now, it's one thing to see that a very close friend of yours is hurting but an entirely different thing to console them. The regular things we say while trying to console a person like “sorry, you'd be fine”, “everything happens for a reason” or“God knows best” couldn't come out of my mouth because irrespective of how badly I want the friend to stop hurting, he is going to hurt for a while and that's the truth. So no, you wouldn't be fine anytime soon friend, and what could be the possible reason for the loss of an amazing soul?

As I watched my friend, I kept contemplating on what exactly to say that would soothe him but since I couldn't come up with anything tangible, I just listened. I listened to him pour out his heart. I listened to him summarize his entire life in just a few hours. Although he seemed to find a brief moment of solace in my listening ears, I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't doing or saying enough.

Question:

What do people say to comfort people in distress?

I've come to the realization that loss is a core part of human existence. It can manifest in different forms like; the loss of a loved one, the end of a relationship or even the loss of one's complete state of health due to certain casualties. When dealing with a person going through loss, validating their emotions is a very apprehendable approach. I could easily have downplayed my friend's emotion because he's an adult but showing empathy seemed like a way better approach. This way, I didn't minimize the severity of what he was feeling.

Offering practical help could go a long way in such cases and being that this is one of my closest friends, I would aim to be of service in any way I can. This way, he gets to rest easy, knowing that his friends have got him covered.

Grief is indeed a hard emotion to navigate and can manifest as shock, anger, sadness and even depression. Be that as it may, here's a heartfelt message to anyone who has experienced the weight of grief, I hope you heal✨.

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LIEBE🤍