Death and Bereavement

     Death is a pretty straight forward concept. No living creature is immortal and from the time a person is born, their clock starts ticking. Some clocks stop within a few minutes while others cease only after a century. But no matter what, the only thing certain is that end is inevitable one day or the other. As humans this is a concept we all are well aware of. We all know very well that the people we have met throughout our lives, the people we love and care about, and even ourselves, will die one day. But no matter how aware we are of this truth, or how prepared we are to let someone go, there always exist an ache; a pain that feels like someone tugging the strings of our heart and pulling it right out of our chest. 

     The cherished moments we shared with them, the time we spend doing things with them, and the way they made us feel are the things that coalesce to form the fond memories about them in our minds. The more we see them, the more we subconsciously try to add more events and instances to this treasure chest deep in our souls. The news of someone's passing hurts the most in our chest, the exact place filled to the brim with memories of them. It is at that moment we realize that there will not be another time, another memory or another moment with them; that we will have to live the rest of our lives just with the memories we have made with them already. Instead of seeing them and making more memories, we will have to replay and reenact the previous ones for the rest of our lives. This grief and grim truth turns into a state of denial before transforming into bereavement. 

     Nothing can ever prepare us for this moment since oftentimes we don't even know when it is actually the last time we see them or talk to them. And even when we know that one day it all ends, it never dulls the pain of loss we feel at that moment no matter what. Death is a simple concept but bereavement will always be complex and complicated.

-Rithin. 

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