5 Phrases Of Mourning To Face A Loss

We have all experienced a grieving process at one time or another. A series of stages that follow one after another and that allow us to assimilate a loss. However, this process hurts so much that sometimes we linger too long in one of these stages causing it to take longer than necessary. The phrases of mourning that we will discover below will give us some light and hope if we are going through this painful moment.

In addition, the mourning phrases that we will present are not only positive, but also allow us to reflect on what this process implies and everything we can learn from it. Likewise, they will also help us to be aware of what we have to avoid and what we should do.

1. There is no duel like the one who does not speak

This phrase by Henry Wardsworth emphasizes the great weight we carry when we do not allow ourselves to express our pain. In the face of a loss, we suffer, however certain beliefs and conditions can encourage us to keep up appearances.

Not crying in public, not expressing our emotions for fear that others will see us are barriers that prevent us from accepting and working through the loss. All this causes us to carry a great pain that lasts over time. In addition, the weight of not expressing what we feel can transform into a deep depression. 

It is important to give us the license to express our feelings.  Suppressing them does us much more harm.

2. Grief is a good thing. It’s the way to go through life’s transitions

This is one of Rick Warren’s mourning phrases that invites us to see this process as an opportunity to say goodbye to that person who has left us. At times, we feel that we have not had the opportunity to do so and grief allows us little by little to let go.

However, this phrase from Warren also invites us to see grief as a preparation for a new stage in our life. A stage in which that person will no longer be physically present, but that does not imply that they are not present in our hearts.

Going through grief allows us to say goodbye and transform the relationship we had with that person. In addition, it helps us to be aware that we can move on.

3. Grief is a process, not a state

At the beginning we commented that, sometimes, the duel lasts longer than necessary. For this reason, this phrase by Anne Grant makes special mention that grief is a process and not a state. A series of stages to go through, ranging from denial to anger, from negotiation to sadness, to finally come to accept the loss. Although the order does not have to be always the same.

However, many people get stuck in one of these phases. They can live with denial for too long and even sadness for the rest of their lives. For this reason, Grant’s phrase invites us to open our eyes and realize that grief is not a state.

Believing that grief is a state will prevent us from moving on with our lives and will prevent us from being happy. It is important that we are able to let go of that person who is no longer with us. We have to learn to let it go, even if it hurts. It will be really liberating.

4. Grief challenges us to love once again

This is one of Terry Tempest Williams’ grieving phrases that invites us to see this process as a challenge. Some people who are unable to cope with a loss  refuse to love again for fear of losing the other. However, this is a risk worth taking.

Like all things, everything has its positive side, but also its negative side. If we did not know sadness, we would not value happiness. For this reason, even though there are losses throughout our lives, going through the stages of grief helps us say goodbye and take the risk of loving again.

5. Do not protect yourself from pain with a fence, but rather with your friends

This Czech proverb is extremely revealing. Sometimes, when we suffer a loss, we withdraw ourselves from ourselves and withdraw from others. We stopped meeting friends, seeing family, having a social life and even doing what we used to like.

It is as if we put a barrier that protects us from the pain we feel, although perhaps in reality what we are doing is enhancing it. It is positive to spend time with ourselves and our pain, but it is also positive to share it and allow others to support us.

When we find hands that hold us, friends that hug us, words of others that comfort us, the grief can be carried out in a healthier way. Isolating ourselves from others can cause our pain to consume us and we may not know how to let it go.

Have you ever been through a duel? How have you coped? These mourning phrases help us to be aware of what this process implies and that even if our emotions sink us, it is necessary to come out afloat. What seems like an ending is not always really so. At times, you may be hiding new beginnings and opportunities or just different ways of relating to people who have left.