The Loss of a Loved One

Cheer up. Although life may not be easy now, in the end it’s all worth it. Everything will get better in time. So SMILE!

      Losing a close friend or family member is a subject which many people do not like to talk about. Maybe because it's very painful for them, or maybe because it's a subject which many feel should not be discussed - it's unlucky, or a forbidden subject.
Losing a loved one, especially a parent will usually not happen to us until we are older ourselves, unless we are very unlucky. It is impossible for anyone who hasn't known the death of someone close to understand. They will sympathize, but they cannot know how the pain and despair of the loss affects those left behind. For most of the shock of the loss does not set in straight away, it may take days, or weeks, or even months, but at some time it will hit us. The empty hole, the realization that the world is not the same, and it never will be again.                                             
Many books have been written about coping with grief - however you try to cope there are certain things you have to realize. The first is that you cannot rush it or force it. It will take time - how much time will vary.  The support and love of friends and other relatives can ease the pain, but the feelings of loss and emptiness never fully disappear, nor should they. During their lifetime they were a big part of your life - that will be with you for the rest of your days.

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