Grief Is - Author Unknown
Grief is more than just a constellation of feelings in response to a loss.

a.. Grief does not fade with the passage of time. We do not realize our losses in an instant; we realize them over years. We do not get over it, but instead go through it, not just once, but as many times as we do. Through grief we incorporate our losses and weave them into tapestries of our lives so we can stay connected with all we have loved and still continue to live on at the same time.
b.. Grief is timeless. You cannot predict exactly how and when grief will manifest.
c.. Grief changes form and eludes definition.
d.. Grief is physical.
e.. Grief sits on your chest, punches you in the gut, squeezes your throat, winds everything up breaking-point tight, and sucks the energy out of you.
f.. Grief is holding your breath, or breathing fast and shallow like a scared rabbit.
g.. Grief is lazy and lethargic.
h.. Grief is exhaustion that cannot sleep, hunger that cannot eat, and tears that will not dry.
i.. Grief makes you feel weak, hollow, and threadbare.
 

j.. Grief is clenching your teeth until you have a headache that will not go away.
k.. Grief is feeling rundown and getting sick over and over again.
l.. Grief is feeling so lousy all the time that you cannot tell whether you are sick or depressed.
m.. Grief is a field of fog and distance where we wander lost and aimless.
n.. Grief is unexpected composure, lucidness, and productivity that seem out of place.
o.. Grief is a calm sullen silence, a vacuum into which we withdraw.
p.. Grief is not being able to think about anything else. < BR>q.. Grief is dreaming about your past life.
r.. Grief is a protest, a temper tantrum, a refusal to give up without a fight over something that is already lost.
s.. Grief is an intense negotiation over events that have already happened, a barrage of what-if's and if-only's.
t.. Grief is a hope turned backwards in time.
u.. Grief is yelling at the beautiful sunrise because it means time is abandoning your loved one.
v.. Grief is a plea to undo what cannot be undone.
w.. Grief is rejected offerings and ungranted prayers.
x.. Grief is retracing the steps that led our loved one from this world.
 

He's my brother

y.. Grief is wanting to bear witness to and comfort the pain and suffering they experienced.
z.. Grief is feeling guilty because we did not stop our loss, could not stop our loss, and cannot change our loss.
aa.. Grief is an accountability session.
ab.. Grief is damage control.
ac.. Grief is a sigh-a reluctant surrender to powers greater than ours.
ad.. Grief is a radical depletion of will and inspiration.
ae.. Grief is throwing your hands up into the air and collapsing onto the floor into despair.
af.. Grief is unabashedly wailing and drowning in your own snot and tears.
ag.. Grief is an inventory of what has been lost.
ah.. Grief is a dim spotlight that illuminates the void where a life once was.
ai.. Grief is a fear that life is all there is and it is not enough.
aj.. Grief is fear of living with the loss and losing more.
ak.. Grief is examining every relationship, turning it upside down, considering its loss, and mourning it, before we venture to engage more deeply.
al.. Grief is choosing to endure loneliness and despair over facing the fear of further loss.
am.. Grief is the identity crisis that ensues when we lose those who help define who we are, how we live, and how we relate to one another.
an.. Grief is an influx of freedom to re-create the self as old expectations of who we once were fade.
ao.. Grief is panning through memories over and over searching for jewels.
ap.. Grief is believing every pebble is a gem.
aq.. Grief is celebration.
ar.. Grief is saying thank you.
as.. Grief is admitting that there was no gold in the pan.
at.. Grief is a confession of regrets.
au.. Grief is saying you are forgiven or forgive me.
av.. Grief is saying God forgive you because I can't.
aw.. Grief is saying screw you for leaving me.
ax.. Grief is turning ordinary objects-a hairbrush, a note, a pin - into sacred vestiges.
ay.. Grief is talking about your loss again and again and choosing to ignore those that roll their eyes.
az.. Grief is avoiding the reminders and trying to forget.
ba.. Grief is clinging to the reminders and trying to remember more.
bb.. Grief is recalling special moments and crying.
bc.. Grief is being able to remember the special moments and smile instead of crying.
bd.. Grief is discovering pieces of what was lost in places you do not expect.
be.. Grief is grasping opportunities to connect, to share, and to care that you might have otherwise left for tomorrow because you are ever mindful now that there may be no tomorrow.
bf.. Grief is being able to distinguish better what is really important and meaningful after all is said and done and choosing to do more of it.