Moving On


Moving on – this a phrase that is heard often in the grief journey – most often from well-meaning people encouraging you to move forward out of sadness and grief.  Yet, for someone in the middle of the grief journey it is difficult to define what this means and looks like.  This week I found a quote that I really liked and shared it on Facebook:



 

My uncle commented with a thought from his son-in-law who went through his own grief journey with the loss of his wife (my cousin) at a young age, just eight years ago.  That thought has been ringing through my head since I read it yesterday.  The absolute truth in the thought is such a perfect definition of moving on. 

"To move on didn't mean I packed up my memories of Crystal and then looked back at them as I moved forward. Instead, I packed up the memories and took them with me as I began to move ahead." – Dave Kline

Moving on doesn’t mean putting those memories behind us and remembering them occasionally or rarely, those memories have shaped who we are to the very core of our being.  To not talk about those memories is denying who we have become and why we have become who we are.  I will continue to talk freely about my memories of Scott, even as my focus gradually shifts to the future rather than dwelling on the past year.  He will always be a part of me. 

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