Heart of Darkness

The dichotomy of darkness versus light is explored in this talk through the lens of grief.

Transcript

Today on Beautiful Life,

Heart of Darkness.

I have found myself in many situations over the past few years where I am helping grieving people after the loss of a loved one,

Friend,

Co-worker,

Etc.

I'm a counselor and a coach,

So it's not surprising that I'm called in for these things or that I am present and witness in the wake of a loss.

We often associate grief with darkness,

Don't we?

Love with light,

Like they are separate ends of the spectrum.

We say,

You will come out of the darkness of your pain.

You will live in the light again.

That dichotomy is felt in the words we use and also in our hearts.

A few years ago I was experiencing a tremendous loss myself,

While helping others go through it as well.

I felt dark and the grief was heavy.

At one point during the funeral,

I looked around at crying faces and grief-stricken families and had a sudden realization,

Perhaps an epiphany,

That grief was really love.

Profound love and profound light that could be shed on such sadness,

Such darkness.

In that moment,

It all shifted for me.

In that moment,

I came to realize the new truth,

That at the heart of darkness,

There was actually light.

In the midst of profound pain and suffering,

Love was there.

It was there all the time,

And it's like I forgot about it.

See,

To grieve heavily was to have loved profoundly.

Without love,

There is no grief.

Without grief,

There was no love.

In the heart of darkness,

There is love.

In love,

Light is always there.

This realization has radically changed how I relate to life and death now.

I can be present to all of it,

The sorrow or the joy,

The anger or the confusion.

I felt it and I know it,

Because it all comes back to love every time.

Reviews

Thank you for your words. They help me to see the power of love and light in the darkness that occurs as our lives change with time.

That was so Bryan’s helpful to view grief that way. I was stuck in grief for many years. Thank you for this wonderful perspective!!! 🙏☮️💕

That was so lovley and helping me my pain of the loss of my mum and my brother only 3 weeks apart 🥲🙏

Excellent way to shift from the darkness of grief to the light of love.
Thank you!

As a ICU RN in a COVID unit, this is exactly what I’ve been attempting to get across to the family members of the patients. These end of life moments are sacred.

Thank you. I truly needed that wisdom😢

I needed this today, I lost my daughter on this day last year. Thank you.

Oh wow. I really needed to hear this. Thank you.

Thank you. I needed this.

Thank you for this insight. Funny how I hadn’t seen it before with all the grief I have seen and been through. Very appreciative.

Yes, so true. I’ve been thinking similarly lately after experiencing much grief. There’s so much beauty within it if you can look beyond the gripping pain. Thank you for offering these epiphanies to us. ♥️

This is lovely.

Wonderful. Thank you.

I love Karen Mitchel, she truly helps me make sense of it all. Thank you for these little affirmations! Thank you, thank you, thank you

Thank you. This is what I've learned as well.

Beautiful. Thank you

So beautiful and so true. Thank you.

Beautiful, thank you so much for sharing 🙏

To grieve deeply is to have loved profoundly.
A wonderful reminder again. On the love beneath it all.

Very helpful 🌸 thank you