Helping People That Are Grieving
Sometimes people are confused by what to say and how to approach a person that is grieving.
First and foremost, no matter who the grieving person is, whether it is someone that is close to you or someone that you do not know very well, and no matter what are the circumstances of the death, you ALWAYS say: “I am so sorry for your loss…”!
Then, you base your interaction as well as the conversation on how well you know the person and how familiar you are with their belief system.
To a spiritual person who is dealing with a loss, a discussion about the immortal nature of the soul as well as our home in the spirit world, is very soothing and helpful. Of course, however, if someone is not open to any of this, a discussion about spirituality can actually be a turn-off where the person’s feeling’s might get hurt, the Ego might get defensive, and the grief process might even deepen.
For example, if you know that the person is spiritual and is familiar with what happens to us when we die, you can talk about some spiritual concepts. However, if you know that the person is either religious and has a specific sets of beliefs, in regard to what happens to his/her loved one after death, or if the person is a non-believer of any kind, it is NOT a good idea to “force” any spiritual concepts/information on them, even if you know that it will be helpful!
Obviously if you do not know the person at all and therefore are not familiar with their spiritual awareness or set of beliefs, you also need to stay away from any spiritual discussion, and only offer your condolences, support, and love!
The main thing you always want to keep in mind is that: when you interact with someone that is grieving, specifically right after the passing, you want to let the person lead the way as to when they want to talk, what they want to talk about, and how much talk they want to talk, if any.
At the time of grief, some people want to talk about the passing with great details while others don’t, some want company of family and friends, and some want to be left alone, some need to talk about the person that they lost in order to feel better, and to others a discussion about the person that is no longer there with them can deepen sorrow….
To be an effective spiritual supporter to a person that is grieving you need to observe and listen carefully to what make THEM feel better in order to base your words, behavior, interactions with them accordingly!
Lots of love to you all… Please, stay safe!
XO
Miki
