T H A N K F U L (28)

 T H A N K F U L

I feel like most of us don’t always realize we have a lot in life to be thankful for. Even as we get older in life, the things we are thankful for are ever changing. Despite some situations we might find ourselves in that might be less than enjoyable. Everyone in life is thankful for just that; life. 

We are all the same people at times. When we allow life to slow down just for a few minutes we might even be able to see the good all around us. That is what we can be thankful for. Maybe life isn’t always that picture perfect image for everyone, so they might be thankful for the people inside it instead.

Somedays we fight, others we could laugh for hours. Whether that laughter is spent with family or with friends who you might believe are better than family itself. Family is who you make it, and who you share every day with in a sense. That is something to be thankful for.

You could be thankful for food, family, friends, good health, or the rest of the endless list that we make each day in our heads. Life might be difficult in some ways, and maybe we try our hardest every day to just make it to the next. Maybe you’re thankful for just waking up the next day. That’s fine; just know that there are small things to even be thankful for.

-JS

G R I E F (27)

 G R I E F

Supposidely, there are five steps that come along with this word. A word that holds meaning for everyone in life. Even if you think you stand out from the world, this is one of those words that continues to grapple and hold on. Letting go can be what makes everyone afraid right?

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The five steps-- almost like completing a course on something you might not have wanted to be in attendance for. Denial is the first of the steps, and can be the worst. To believe that something as painful as loss can be true. Anger is the fun one; you can always show how angry you are over the loss. Not angry at the person who passed but moreso at losing them entirely. Bargaining, depression, and acceptance come as the final three and sometimes are skipped around one another. 

Loss is something that you can’t control. Yet grief is the one that comes no matter if you want it or not. No matter how many years go by. The first is the worst, but then as they go on, at times it gets harder and you just can’t seem to believe how life moves on without those we love most sometimes. 

When we consider grief, it should always be in the terms of understanding.Yet there could be other times in life when we experience grief that isn't a true loss. Loss of a relationship or part of yourself could also bring on the feelings of grief. Those feelings have to coexist with understanding just like with other feelings along the way. That one person’s grief is not the same as others. And with that understanding is what we have to realize about grief. That the two are one and the same. 

-JS