At the end of each of the chapters in her book, The Gift of Years – Growing Older Gracefully, author Joan Chittister writes a brief summary she calls the burden and the blessing. Being present to someone who has experienced a loss through death, divorce or is grieving after having lost their job can often weigh us down; but can also provide us with abundant blessings. It is difficult to see a friend or loved one go through the grieving process and yet not allowing or recognizing the grieving will only delay what hopefully leads to acceptance or other type of resolution.
Dr. Nancy Reeves, a clinical psychologist, maintains that the physical, mental and emotional aspects of grief and loss are holistic and therefore require an understanding that the process of grieving is a much needed step before moving forward. When the pain and anguish of a great loss has been acknowledged and worked through, and a new way of life has triumphed; therein is the blessing.
Among the 300+ FREE training videos on mmLearn.org is one presented by Dr. Nancy Reeves on Grief and Loss. Dr. Reeves moves gently through the process to help viewers gain strength in the knowledge and understanding of the grieving process.
