If Only I Had a Heart, Part 2

Hurtful experiences take time to heal.  When we are emotionally reeling from a painful loss, the best thing for us to do is to ‘just be’ with the loss. Many of us attempt to run away from the feelings, to put them aside, to get busy, and a number of other things to avoid the depth of feelings we are experiencing. Elizabeth Kubler Ross, M.D., a specialist in the area of death and dying, taught us that grief is a process and this process takes time. Therefore, when we experience a loss we need to give ourselves time to grieve.

Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and think we need to forgive and let go. Like grief, forgiveness and letting go take time and we must respect our individual differences and time frames for the healing process to naturally run its course. Some of us heal quickly and some of us require years of reflection and inner work before we are able or willing to let go and move on. No matter how long our healing takes, forgiveness is the last step. Without forgiveness we will not be able to open our hearts again. As we forgive ourselves and others, we open the way to inner peace.

An excerpt from Returning to the Land of Oz; Finding Hope, Love, and Courage on Your Yellow Brick Road by John Tamiazzo, PhD available at Amazon.com, Amazon,ca, and Barnesandnoble.com