despair

I wish to speak to you of grief. Many of us are witnessing great tragedies, from death to illness to broken relationships to depressions to abuse. How do we hold for ourselves and others as the winds of change and loss threaten to blow our internal houses down?
It is so easy to feel overwhelmed by the despair of another, to get then to try to feel better so that we do not slide into hopelessness ourselves. It takes great courage and strength to hold with another, to let the heavens rage, the lightening splits the sky without looking away. Can we remain present to another's grief, to listen to the wails of anguish? Can we not look away as another dissolves into primal grief that has no bottom, no answer?
This is what brings true comfort. When we have the internal fortitude to allow such anguish without attempting to ease our own pain by trying to make the person feel better, we give another the space to plumb the depths of their sorrow. This is how we can best serve the call of grief.