Grief Is not Just About Death

As you may have noticed, I've been diving into the topic of grief in its various forms.

So, I want to continue that conversation with a question for you:

What would you tell your younger self before you made/ experienced those grief-inducing changes in your life?

When we think of grief, we often think of losing someone. But as we’ve discussed grief isn’t just about death—it can show up in many unexpected ways.

It’s the loss of who we were before major life changes.

Grief can come when we say goodbye to the person we were before marriage, before parenthood, before a career change, or after a tragedy. These are deep losses—shifts in our identity, routines, and relationships.

Before you said "yes" to a life partner, before the baby arrived, before you took that new job—what wisdom would you share?

Would it have made a difference?

Would you have been prepared for the grief that often accompanies these transitions?

Would I have listened?

I’ve gone through this myself.

Stepping into marriage and parenthood brought incredible joy, but also grief—the loss of who I once was. Even positive changes require letting go of something familiar, and that’s hard, even when you expect it.

Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I would have known more.

But maybe, the grief was necessary to truly understand the depth of those changes?

Grief isn’t just about loss—it’s about adjustment. It’s the challenge of letting go of who we were, while stepping into who we’re becoming.

So, I’ll ask you again:

What would you tell your younger self?

Would it have helped?

-Ben