She posted this article this morning and it's definitely share-worthy.
It's an article by John Pavlovitz called "Everyone Around You is Grieving. Go Easy."
I had read this article before but read it again and immediately knew I had to share it too. The point the author makes is so very true.
I remember flying home to AZ after John had died while we were vacationing in NY. It had happened only hours before but, after making all the arrangements I could while in NY, I HAD to be home.
I needed to be home to hug my dogs and just be in our house.
So there I was, flying alone. John's body was in a morgue in NY and I was taking his suitcase home with me. I could not believe what had happened to us.
My cousin had alerted the flight attendants before I boarded and asked them to keep an eye on me but no one approached me during the flight. I sat in my seat for 5 hours - upset, distraught, numb, worn out, sad.
Tears quietly streaming down my cheeks for most of the flight.
Not one person said a word to me the entire time.
Maybe that was better. I'll never know.
Would it have been worse if an attendant had asked me how I was?
Could the gentleman sitting next to me have asked if I was all right?
How could he not have seen my tears?
All I know is I lived inside my head for that flight and to this day, I do not know how I did it.
But we need to see each other.
I think some people are afraid to "catch" whatever they are avoiding - death, loss, etc. But as Ram Dass said "We are all just walking each other Home."
I know now I try to reach out to others more, acknowledge them, compliment them. At the very least we should try to make their day better, not worse. You just never know what is going on in their life at that moment.
You could be that one thing they need that day to go on.
Namaste.
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