Here Fr Jim Cogley continues the series on coping with loss. It is particularly helpful and relevant for this month of November.
Letting go is a term that is often used in relation to grief work. However it is unfortunate that the term carries connotations of farewells and goodbyes when this is not truly the case. We never say goodbye to anyone but we do need to let go of how we once knew them, in order to get used to knowing them in a different way. Two birds will fly together, and weave in and out in perfect harmony, only because e they are free of each other. However tie them together and while they have four wings they will not be able to fly. This is a basic truth that is fundamental to resolving grief. Unless we release we cannot have and in not doing so we condemn ourselves to a life of loneliness and emptiness. To love something is to set them free and if they come back to us in a new way only then are they ours forever.