May 20, 2023
“A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.”
– Madeleine L’Engle
We’ve all been to those movies where the critic says, “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry.” The emotional highs and the emotional lows. That’s life. And that’s life when death appears.
After someone you love dies, there will be much crying, so much crying that it may physically wear you out. But you also need laughter, at least an occasional laugh to lift your spirits and keep you moving forward.
Have you ever wandered through a dark and cloudy day, with skies so oppressive you feel weighed down by the universe, until for reasons you can’t quite understand, there’s a break in the clouds, and if only for a moment the sun peaks through to remind you it’s still always been there, hiding behind all the grim overcast.
Grief is the same way. Just when you don’t think you can take it a moment longer, you’ll have a memory about something goofy or tender that your loved one did or an afternoon you spent laughing together so hard it was as if time stood still. And that memory, in that moment, will be so real it’s as if you’re reliving it. And in that moment you’ll laugh, you’ll cry.
Take those moments as reminders that your loved one is reaching out to you with the reassurance, “Hey I’m still here. You’re hurting, I know. But I’m still here.” Hold those memories close to your heart because they will help sustain you. And don’t forget to laugh.
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Welcome an opportunity to laugh. It is a powerful force for healing.