GRIEFBURSTS & GUTPUNCHES

 

When you are a grieving person,

You will undoubtedly experience

The unpleasant sensation of

Griefbursts and gutpunches.

 

You can’t prepare for either one.

They happen when they happen.

A griefburst or a gutpunch comes

When you least expect it.

 

There’s not a whole lot of difference

Between the two.

I consider a griefburst to be

A quick memory that causes us to cry briefly.

 

A gutpunch, however,

Can be an unexpected event or happening

That causes a longer period of sadness

And to feel as though the wind has been knocked out of us.

 

Neither sensation occurs at predictable times.

I personally experienced a gutpunch for my dad

While riding the cograil up to Pike’s Peak!

He had been deceased for ten years!

I have had numerous griefbursts

Since I became a grieving person:

In the grocery store

When I passed her favorite cookies.

 

When the department stores started decorating

For the coming Holidays;

When I sat on our deck

And reminisced about how she loved the outdoors.

 

On a good day, those things wouldn’t bother me.

But if I am especially tender, I will definitely cry.

I have come to accept crying as a normal bodily function.

If I cry in front of people, so be it.

 

As Washington Irving said,

“There is a sacredness in tears…

They are the messengers of overwhelming grief,

Of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.”

 

In other words,

If you experience a griefburst or a gutpunch,

It’s perfectly normal,

And it’s okay to cry.

 

 

Janie