The Symbol of Grief

“A butterfly is a symbol of life after death because of it’s stages of transformation from egg to adult. The stages or cycles mimic human birth, personal growth and spiritual rebirth.” by Renee Greene

When you lose someone who was your world, not just part of your world, but your world, it can feel like life can’t go on. It’s almost as though you’ve been frozen in time. You want the pain to stop but you don’t want one moment to go on without them.

No matter how much you want time to stop or even more, go back, to spend one more day, one more hour, one more minute, it only keeps going

You can’t stop your grief. You can’t and won’t ever get over your grief. Grief will be with you for the rest of your life. Our grief exists because we deeply love. That love will never end.

As you begin to accept your grief, just allowing for the sorrow and pain to be there, you begin to allow for yourself to transform. You may start to realize that you are a different person. Losing someone you love has forever changed you. This isn’t to say it’s a negative or a positive change. You are simply different.

As time progresses and your pain softens, many who are able to walk through their grief begin to recognize these changes inside themselves.

One of the things I struggled with in the early months of my grief is accepting the reality of my loss. With time, effort, and supportive people around me, I was able to slowly have moments of accepting my new reality. These brief moments grew into minutes, hours, and eventually days. Don’t get me wrong, I still have times when I fight against my reality. I want to pretend for just a few moments that my heart has not been ripped in two.

When I see a butterfly, it reminds me of how I have transformed. The death of my loved one crushed me to the core. And as I look back, I see how far I have come. I recognize the transformation I have undergone. I never believed that anything good could come from my loss. But in my loved one’s honor, I now am able to accept the good that has come from life after death.

It takes a great deal of effort, work, and support to transform. If you need support on your journey in grief, I am here when you are ready.