During the joy of Christmas music, lights, good food, we also experience grief. This year we have lost friends. I doubt we are alone. Our transition through time can weigh like a heavy coat and we resent the cold that forces its fabric on our shoulders. We don’t want to mark the days that are gone and the loved ones who have passed beyond our reach, some who have died and some whose memory of us mists like a Pacific Northwest fog.

In the most recent monthly newsletter of the WA Grief Support Services (http://griefsupportservices.org) Rex Allen wrote three resolutions that perhaps will ease the burden of grief.  Allow me to offer them to you as moments of grace.

 

In the days to come, take the time to find a few moments and consider these three little resolutions. 

Each day I will nurture the gratitude that memories of my loved one create in my heart.

Recent health studies have shown that when we incorporate gratitude into our lives on a daily basis, we actually improve our overall health. No matter how challenging your relationship with your loved one may have been, look for those memories that help you be grateful on a daily basis.

Each day I will look for moments of peace in every breath that I take.

As best you can, live in the present and allow your life to unfold moment by moment. You cannot change the past, nor can you live an unknown future — look for peace in the moment at hand.

Each day I will open myself to the possibilities of hope.

While it may seem all but impossible now, hope will grow in your life again. Look for the possibilities of hope — hope for a gentler year; hope for more understanding. 

By whatever calendar you mark the beginning of a new year, remember: each day is simply that — another day. And it only carries with it the meaning which you choose to give to it. If in your grief, you can approach each day with the intention of honoring memory, breathing through the opportunity of the moment, and honoring the hope that these little resolutions might provide, then your loved one will never be forgotten or left behind, for their heartbeat will be contained within your own.