Seasons of grief

We seem to be going through a "season of grief" in our family. My Mothers older sister passed away in May of this year and now my Fathers youngest sister is gravely ill. This inevitably leads to thinking of the passing of our parents' generation and how it all seems to be happening at once and what lessons are to be gleaned from this "season of grief".
This morning I recieved an email from a young cousin that helped comfort me in the wee hours of the morning. It strongly reminded me that Life was happening, that the circle of Life was fulfilling itself, that as our sources of comfort and sage advice were aging and dying, the younger generation was boldly marching in to take their rightful places within the circle and to offer words of wisdom and comfort to us.
My young cousins email contained this quote,"By choosing to find the benefit in every experience, every experience becomes a blessing".

Long time

Its been a long time getting back to this. Not that there is nothing positive to talk about, mainly because I was unable to write brightly whilst going through this grieving process.
My writings were dark and judgemental.....thankfully I was able to keep them private.
I am still unable to write about this process........mainly because I seem to still be in its grip.
I will concentrate instead on those quotes and sayings that my mother and I so loved and shared often.

Love one another and help others to rise to the higher levels, simply by pouring out love.
Love is infectious and the greatest healing energy. —Sai Baba

Getting back on track

Its been hard getting back on track.
I had figured that it would be, get to Aussie, take care of business, back to Canada, get over the lag.....back to work...baddah bing, baddah boom, baddah bang...back on track Jack!!
What actually happened is that I've been in a mental no-mans land these past couple of months, forgetting routine details, disappearing mentally during important sessions/meetings etc., getting emotional at exactly the wrong moment..indecisive..forgetful...just generally not my usual self. Fortunately I have a circle of friends around me who know me well and have no hesitation letting me know when I am veering off track. Andy finally shook me loose with a frank talk at our regular Sunday morning get togethers and then set me up with Jack, who put me in touch with a grief counsellor, who along with a couple of funeral parlours puts on a 6 week session on handling grief.
Jack also follows up with me so that I have someone to talk with. The time physically spent with my Mum was brief....those circumstances of life...but I always missed her deeply. In the aftermath of her passing I am coming to grips with the fact that I am indeed grieving deeply...as the counsellor put it....the deeper the love the longer it takes to get over. I like that!
Friends are indeed the flowers in the garden of life.....or to fit with the theme of this blog...The candles who light up my everyday life!!