The Five Stages Of Grief

This is our dance with grief, love...

Denial. You build a sandcastle. A wave washes it away leaving behind it a pile of grains glued together with salty water. You announce it’s just a mistake in the timing of the waves and continue as if nothing happened. Anger. You build another sandcastle. The wave washes in and leaves behind it a muddy paste which you resent. You blame yourself for not being better prepared. You shout at the government for ignoring climate change. You throw mud balls at the waves. And you continue as if nothing has happened. Negotiation. You build another sandcastle. This time, before the wave comes in, you build around it a wall using stones you find on the shore. Perhaps the wave will settle for that and just go. When the wave sucks your castle up again you wonder if you could build something from all the shells and debris it left in its wake on the shore. You keep piling up sand. The tiredness of your sweet body reminds you of the battle you are waging with what’s happening. Sadness. You build another sandcastle. When the wave comes you wet it with your tears. As you sit slumped in surrendering silence in a puddle where your castle used to be, you try to separate between the sweet drops and the salty ones. Only the salt is able to make the difference between the waves within and the waves of the ocean. You wonder whether you have the energy for one more innocent castle. Acceptance. You build a sandcastle. When the wave arrives you are ready. You know you are the wave and you are the sand. You know you are the tear and you are the ocean. You know you are an infinite source of majestic creation and it doesn’t matter if the wave comes from within or without. You are a castle to anything that comes.