Some reminders of all the things you are:

- You are Loved

- You are Doing Beautifully 

- You are Deserving of Good Things

- You are Doing Important Work in the World

- You are Creative 

- You are On the Right Path

- You are Inspiring

- You are Making a Difference

- You are Wanted

- You are Irreplaceable 

- You are Perfectly Imperfect

- You are Becoming Something

- You are a Wonder and a Marvel

(Inspired by this post from @revelatori on IG)

Grief can make you feel TOO everything ... too tired, too afraid, too anxious, too different, too alone, too emotional, too overwhelmed.

And all this can lead to feeling paralyzed, unable to think or move or function.

To help in these moments, try the 5-4-3-2-1 method (care of Mel Robbins).

Count down slowly in your mind, 5-4-3-2-1. When you get to 1, get up and do any physical activity.

Walk around the block, walk around your house 3 times, do 30 air squats, hold a plank for 30 seconds, do 30 jumping jacks.

Get your blood moving and your brain will follow. And then, try to keep moving instead of heading back to bed or the couch.

Do the next thing in your day. Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Go to work. Whatever's next. Keep using the method and stack a second action on to the first action, and then a third and so on. 

Each day you'll find you're able to do a little bit more

Healing is a process that happens underneath the surface, like roots. You can't see the roots but they are there, spreading and growing. 

Then all of a sudden a plant pops up and surprises you:

 You have a good day (there were a few rough moments but you got through them)

You enjoy watching a funny sitcom

You have plans for dinner and you're actually looking forward to them

If you've been wondering whether you're making progress, because it feels anything but, be assured, your healing is happening every day that you carry on, under the surface, spreading out like roots, and these roots will grow, support you, and surprise you.

A simple yet brilliant quote today from Michele Deville: 

"When you can - you will."

A heartbreaking loss disrupts everything in your life. And what used to be an ordinary activity suddenly feels like an insurmountable feat.

Whatever feels insurmountable to you right now, know that it's OK if you just don't do it.

It's OK if you don't:

go to the party

get out of bed

take a shower

cook dinner

decorate for Christmas

And there's no timeframe after which you are no longer allowed to give yourself grace. It may be 7 years after your loss, the HARD DAYS and seemingly insurmountable things will still occasionally come along. 

Be patient and gentle with yourself knowing, when you CAN, you WILL.

Sharing wise words from grief expert David Kessler: 

You can't use the idea of 'finding meaning' to bypass the pain you have to go through. You're going to be in pain. There's no way around the pain. If you don't feel it, you can't heal it. 

Meaning will be the cushion, but you've got to feel the pain. 

And another place people get stuck is, they think there's meaning in the death. People will go, "My loved one was murdered, there's no meaning there." Or, "My loved one died of cancer, there's no meaning." 

The meaning is not in the death. The meaning is what WE do after. The meaning is in us.

Dealing with grief and loss is a part of life intrinsic to our experience as humans. 

But it's still wretched, isn't it?

That it's commonplace doesn't make our hearts break less. If we're supported, though, and careful navigators, it is possible to emerge from the ocean of grief with newfound resiliency.

May these affirmations bring comfort as you go through the grief process and strive for deeper meaning.

- I allow myself to feel this fully, to be here.

- I'm surrounded by support, seen and unseen.

- I can still see the love in the world.

- I can accept help when it's offered.

- I am gentle with myself as I heal.

- I focus on my blessings, goals and memories.

For the full article and list of 16 affirmations, visit this link.