Let me start by saying that in this great time of distress on many fronts, you are not alone. When this pandemic ends and it will end, no one will will be left that has not experienced a moment of mourning.
This is powerful as it connects us all like never before. All of us will know what to say to someone who has experienced loss because we all will have experienced it.
The magnitude of this loss will force many to focus on stats but your loved one is not a stat, they were part of us, part of our fabric of daily life. That’s why we want to start a hashtag #CovidName.
Please, tell us your loved ones name and something about them, tag it #CovidName. That way we can come to know who we lost and mourn together.
There has always been a belief across religions, societies and time that by speaking of the lost, they are held alive within us and thereby are still part of the fabric of our lives.
This is how we will start to grieve our loved ones. We will remember the good times we shared, those special moments and the times we loved with them.
It is often believed that a physical presence is needed to comfort a loved one as they pass. This presence is a living convention, helping us to finalize and say goodbye.
Our loved ones know that we love them, they know that they are traveling with our thoughts & prayers. While they may be physically alone, they are not mentally or spiritually alone. In non-conventional times this is the comfort we can offer.
Saying goodbye as the living becomes far more difficult in these times. There is no wrong or proper way to grieve a loss. We all must process loss in our own way.
What you must avoid is self doubt that you could have been there if you had tried harder or worked it differently. This is not the case, your loved one would not have wanted you to risk sickness for them.
Time to say goodbye will come and you will be able to fully honor your loved one. Patience will be needed in this though. Funeral homes like hospitals were never meant to handle this. Once again, you are not alone.
We grieve and weep for you as we do for the loved ones we have lost. You are not alone and your loved one is not a stat. Hugs when we can once again hug. -Chad
