A bend in the road

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road." Helen Keller

Whether you look at your life as a journey, as a highway, or as any number of other analogies, one thing that is true for each of us is that life is not lived in a straight line.

We set out on this trip, believing in our heart of hearts that we will go from point 'A' to point 'B' by following the master plan that we've created in our minds. That we will get the education, then get the career, the partner, the children, the possessions, the (you fill in the blank) and eventually end up where we saw ourselves being when we first created this plan at age fifteen or sixteen.  

But life doesn't go in a straight line, nor does it often follow the plan that we've created.  It takes on a momentum of its own, often taking us to places and experiences that in our wildest dreams we would not have included on the map. Some are breathtaking in their beauty.  Others are devastating in their heartache.  Many times, these unplanned bends in the road ahead stop us in our tracks because we don't have the vision or the courage to see beyond them.   In our brokenness, we can't see that no matter how sharp or unexpected the bend ahead of us is, that the road does continue.  That beyond our line of sight, there are places and experiences and people that will once again take our breath away. That will allow us to feel joy and passion for life once again.

Grief often leaves us stuck and staring ahead at the road that has disappeared from in front of us because it is not how we pictured the road that we would travel to be.  We look at our map, and it doesn't show the sharp curve we've encountered. The grief can be caused by the death of a loved one. It might be caused by the end of a career, or the loss of trust you had, or for financial problems that you never projected.  In fact, grief can find us through over forty life experiences.  Grief can settle into our lives when the unexpected happens and changes how we experience our world.  When that does happen, we are often not prepared.  Why? Because in general no one is taught how to deal with grief.  We are not taught the tools and actions that will lead us through the pain, and along that winding road so that we can finally see that the “bend was not the end.” 

Our society does not prepare us for how to handle grief and losses, so when they befall us, we are often left broken and afraid that we can not continue.  We can't see the next portion of the road ahead because of the pain that blinds our vision. Let me assure you that there is hope after loss.  There is joy after pain.  The road does continue, and you can get into the driver's seat of your life once again to travel it.  The Grief Recovery Method provides tools and actions that allow you to take responsibility for that which you can control, and it helps you to find a sense of completion for the things that you can not.  In being able to do that, you'll once again be able to move forward along this road called life.  You'll once again be able to take in the sights and smells and sensations that make each of us feel fully alive while we journey through this precious gift we call life.  Are you ready to get back into the driver's seat of your own life?