Anushree Navaneethakrishnan - Week 12: The Hidden Strength of Grief - 02/26
Out of all the emotions I have ever felt, I feel grief to be the most soul plaguing and profound human experience ever. After losing my grandmother, all I have heard everyone say is grief and healing is not linear, it is okay to feel sorrow at the most random times. It is often perceived as a dark, abyss of sadness whose only mission is to destroy any trace of happiness in one’s life. While I once believed that claim to be true, after being engulfed by that emotion and still experiencing it, I have come to see that it has shaped me as the person I am today.
One of the most powerful aspects of grief is its ability to reshape your priorities. The loss of my grandmother and certain events that have occurred after her death has been a catalyst for me to reevaluate what really matters. I was once a kid that never really understood the depth of familial bonds or parents; to me, they were a symbol of restriction that never let me eat fast food, play outside whenever I wanted, and forced me to go to bed before 10 PM. But, at that moment of loss, I have realized the importance of the relationships around me after taking it for granted for so long. The vitality of every second to spend and cherish moments with my parents has been my major goal.
I also believe that it has triggered my purposeless life to go search for a new aim, whether by carrying on my grandma’s compassionate legacy or pursuing her now deferred dreams for me. It has become my life goal to lead a life that honors whatever dreams and wishes she has felt. A newfound appreciation for the privilege to work hard and study was ignited in me, forcing me to feel grateful for mundane tasks such as going to school and participating in extracurriculars.
The most important grief has taught me is to create a space of nurturement and warmth around me, forming deeper connections. In times of mourning, I have learnt to rely on past memories, friends, and families, a significant change for once being hyper independent. The raw pain and honesty of grief gently eased me into creating a space for vulnerability in my heart, allowing me to empathize with individuals who have gone through a similar experience as me. It has taught me what shared humanity is, and I think that is the most essential skill one needs in today’s world.
The purpose of my blog today is to share that while grief carries a painful connotation to it, it carries the seeds for healing, growth, endurance, and the guide on how to live life more fully.
Hi, Anushree! Your post and topic this week was something so incredibly insightful; I am really glad that you have found the strength to talk about grief. As something that every human will go through at some point in their life before it is their turn to leave everyone else, I think we do not talk about the nuances of grief enough. We dismiss it, as you said, “as a dark, abyss of sadness”—and while it does feel like this for thousands of people who experience it, there is so much more to it than that. I’m glad that you felt comfortable sharing about your personal experiences with grief, and while it may not say much, I’m deeply sorry for your loss and will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers. It is a heartbreaking experience to lose someone you have cared about so deeply, just as many people, me included, have experienced in the past. I think it is a comforting notion, however, to know that you are not alone and that almost everyone around you has had some sort of similar experience with grief. Last year in English, I chose to write a story about this same topic, and I was struggling to articulate what you so eloquently put—grief is a reminder of life’s preciousness. It is a reminder to not take the relationships you have around you for granted, to nurture them—just as you were able to do with your parents. It reminds us that we are not eternal and we were not sent to Earth to live meaninglessly, but to live with purpose, with “aim”—with intent. It is incredibly inspiring how you are taking it upon yourself to “[honor] whatever dreams and wishes” your grandmother had. Thank you so much for sharing this experience and what you learned from it—it cannot have been an easy topic to talk about, but it really is one that is essential to discuss.
ReplyDeleteHi Anushree, I really liked your blog on the power of grief in life and how it dictates how people behave and act as well as what it could do for their beliefs and other stuff. Your willingness to share your personal experiences with the topic is really powerful and had a tremendous impact on me while I read the article. If you had just gone about talking about grief in general, the topic would not have come across me as strongly. I also liked how you talked about a topic that is so relatable to the book we are currently reading about, Everything I Never Told You, and made it applicable to a majority of people. I also faced similar issues when dealing with grief when my grandmother died as well and I had to try really hard to cope at the time. I think that your view on grief being a way to grow is also something I agree with and believe in.
ReplyDeleteHi Anushree! I found it really interesting how you were able to shape this idea of grief into something more than simple sadness. Most people focus on the emotional side of grief, and how it impacts the way we feel about ourselves. However, I rarely ever hear the different side of hope and new purpose. It provides a far more optimistic lens to this ideology, something I quickly grew to appreciate through this post. Rather than destroying your ideas of love, it seems like your grief has only allowed it to increase, opening up your heart for both your parents and your passions. While I'm sure the feeling of loss that comes with your grandmother must have been painful and difficult, I am really glad that you have been able to surround yourself with such a loving and supportive environment that both helps you heal and discover your own profound love for those around you. I'm sure it must have been difficult to open up about you loss in this post, but I'm thankful for the message you were able to bring out because of it. I, for one, definitely learned something new.
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