My journey through Loss and mourning.

There are choices to make as we continue on without the ones we love. We can take our mind to a place of soul crushing pain and anguish. We can cease to be in the world of the living, residing in a morass of melancholy sorrow. These things in the short term are not at all in our control, though we try. The emotions and reasoning even long term are hardly manageable. When we repress, attempt to manage, or distract ourselves with work or anything else it it can harm us and the people that miss us “being alive”. I was fortunate enough to have someone tell me “There’s healthy mourning and unhealthy mourning”
“The only way out is through” I took the initial time to really grieve and stay in my suffering of loss mourning is a form of prayer, communication of my feelings to God in the form of wailing, crying, yelling and so on. After the first week I tried to dive into work and get back to “normal” but couldn’t even think straight. I guess it came down to beating myself up enough for not making better use of the short time we had. I also equated my loss with Gods will, at first blaming him and then somewhat accepting my sons death as His will, my sons life as a gift, and at some point became grateful for that gift and the time we had. God was the way in and the way out. Without Him I couldn’t have continued. Nearly 12 years since his passing and the saving grace I’ve had is the hope of our reunion in eternal life after a long (short) life we’ll all be together again. We can’t die with them even tough part of us does, we must go on with a fervent life, do better, love more, and think of others instead of self. I still mourn in a healthy way and am mindful not to get stuck (when I can help it.) Writing poetry and thoughts like this helped (even the bad writing) . If I get in a rut, I talk to God and someone I love to get out. May God bless you and see you though?

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Death Comes Calling

I just died again, it’s the second time today. 

The familiar song you used to sing along just began to play 

At first a smile and a memory of you and your special way

My heart can’t take when the song is done, you are gone, and I feel all alone

Time stands still with the lump in my throat, I feel I could fall to the floor

I feel weak and my bones can’t support my body anymore, a million pounds they hold me down and no one can pick me up from the floor

I died again and it just plain sucks 

I pull it together and begin to move, standing I leave my heart on the floor

I start to work and I stop because the pain I cannot endure

I find my strength and start again working without my heart

Empty chest just move my feet this is how I start

Busy my hands and listen to tunes and try to mend my wounds

Nearly every day is like this and you are missed, the sucker punch or the knife plunges in with a twist

Almost every movie someone’s kid dies and I die again

Relive the moments I last saw you lifeless knowing I will not see you again

I can’t continue to write the tears in my eyes are too thick and I’ve worked myself up to the point where I feel sick. 

Love your children and hold them close for they really mean the most. 

Groundhog Day

Go to sleep another day in vein Tried to drown my sorrows and all that pain

Four drinks in and I didn’t feel the same 

As a matter of fact I couldn’t feel a thing

Something happens at around twelve drinks in

When I’m all alone and feel like I don’t have a friend 

I turn the bottle up again thinking I should do myself in

I get angry and destroy everything around

I drank enough whisky to put an average man down

Why am I here again I say with my head low 

What happened to me I do not know

I don’t understand how it’s all turned to shit

It’s everything, I just don’t get it

Everything is spinning I need to lay down 

This is as good as any this spot on the ground

My head is humming buzzing in my ears

It’s the same thing again, I’ve been doing for years

My nightly prayer was to let it end

So I didn’t have to wake up like Groundhog Day and do it again

Waking in the morning angry at the world

Wife says what’s wrong with you, I say I woke up, what a pearl

I’m sick of this stuff 

She was the one who had it rough

When it hurt bad enough I finally stopped 

I remember praying a lot

I started going to meetings and just didn’t drink 

I started listening to people I didn’t even know 

Because they were sober and I had no place to go

Someone told me I should be proud of myself for being a jerk

It was the culmination of my entire life’s work 

I should be happy and give myself a pat on the back 

He asked if that made me angry, I wanted to give him a smack 

I said yes

He said, that’s because It’s true you’re really a mess

The good news is you never have to feel this way again

All you have to do is change everything my friend

I have to admit I didn’t know what he meant then

He said what are you willing to do to get sober again

I’ll do anything, I want it to be over

Since then I’ve made many less mistakes when I started over

By doing whatever it takes, willingness to change has set me free

I had to trust somebody else so that I could see my drinking wasn’t the problem, the problem was me.

I had a living hell of a life that I created 

I let go and was emancipated 

God will set you free if you trust in him and do the work

Test the theory and see if it’s true begin to pray and it will happen for you, even I stopped being a jerk!
Recovered Alcoholic, Jason

Sensitive, Life of an Empath

A sense of emotion swallows me whole

I fall off the cliff with you as my heart is pulled from my chest
The lump in my throat is too big to swallow 
My mother told me when I was a child 

“You can’t carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, it’s just too heavy”

Quite often I understand what others don’t but it doesn’t make it better

to ignore it and deny you is to deny myself

To embrace you is another cut on my heart the open wound of my soul has room and is full of Gods love

I realize I used to isolate out of fear of feeling your pain, over elation or anxiety 

It’s not only the doldrums or other extremes though negative energy seems to dominate the majority 
It’s the dancing of my mind and spirit from one to the next in my ever changing environments

The rush in the air and excitement of events make me tense

I find myself overstimulated like a little baby that’s had too much activity
The joy that brings tears is my favorite 
When someone feels blessed by God 
overcome with joy to the point of weeping my heart is softened as to feel the joy of Angels
A babies laugh wipes everything away if for only a moment 
there’s nothing present but the elation of the child

I will laugh with you

worry with you

sigh with you 

cry with you 

and a piece of me will die with you. 

I will be there with your spirit
Help you up when you’re down
I will pick you up off the ground

Realizing we’re not alone 

feel for someone to the bone 

that’s how love is really shown

                                               ~ J ~

Happy Birthday Jordan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s your birthday again, oh, how long it has been.

I start to think of you and a happy thought across my mind runs,

Shortly after fatigue comes

My arms go weak

And my body goes numb

My heart hollowed and I’m overcome

My memories of you don’t bring me tears

It’s separation from you and the fading memories I fear

I remember your sarcasm and witticism I struggle to remember your laugh and your many mannerisms

I’m scared and afraid that it all might fade

This morning I started out, it was like dragging an anchor, weight on my whole body it was hard to move

Please pray for me son to The Lord our God?

Some days are so very hard

I keep going it’s just something I do

I want you to know I’m missing you.

I’m giving love like I never have before,

I’m sad because I can’t see you anymore

I hope you’re proud of me now, it was because of you, I wanted to learn how

I’ll do as much good as I can and be the man and Dad you new I could be to the end

pray for my soul so I can see you again and thank you for believing in me Jordan

The Only Way Out is Through

So many years past where I couldn’t or simply wouldn’t process the events, situations or the emotions of my life. I was stuck in a thought process that says “stuff it deep down inside where it can’t hurt you” “pretend like it never happened” “just don’t think about it” and other avoidance or suppression methods, along with good times and anesthetizing any of my pain or hurt feelings.
I found it didn’t and doesn’t work. I realized about 9 years ago that I wasn’t really ignoring that stuff successfully or glancing over issues, I was collecting them. I tucked feelings away, where I attempted to keep them under wraps. I’d get the occasional hurt out and caress the melancholy memory as wallowed in self-pity. Never taking time to try and put things in perspective or come to an understanding or make peace. Just to play the role of the victim (poor me) and feed my memories fierce resentment even building them into even more than they were. The little box of hurt inside packaged with a bow. (Box of excuses) That’s what my lack of understanding and my seeming inability to deal with life on life’s terms really was. a box of excuses. Sounds harsh, I know, the reality is, I didn’t understand, I didn’t want to feel anything, but really didn’t understand not feeling, really wasn’t an option. Over time those suppressed feelings stack up and reach overflowing proportion and can no longer be contained. For me these problems would compound current events, if I had something upsetting or some stressful situation of life my coping mechanism would already be overloaded, making things worse. Additionally, pent up emotion would fill me with resentment, which would manifest in the form of anger, depression, anxiety, or aggressive behavior. I masked and stuffed things until I hit the point of crisis in my life. I began to seek council and tried half heartedly to sort things out. I only did so, in attempt to fix the present situation I was in. I gave up and started to anesthetize again, until the unthinkable happened. My son Jordan suddenly died (he was 14). Time stopped, everything changed, I was crushed, and my world was forever changed. There’s no stuffing that. Already near crisis, the box over flows. This is what I think people often do.
I tried to stuff it back in, and for short intervals I managed. Invariably, things that need to be felt get felt. In the light of the terror and depth of that pain, all the previous pangs became somewhat trivial. Regardless, my issues required my attention and some real work. Issues that were to big for me all of my life, were still to big for me to sort out alone. If you have struggled similarly for way too long, I suggest you seek counsel to help you through. Whether it be professional counseling, group therapy, a recovery program doesn’t matter. If you get help, you can get through. You will know a peace, happiness, and contentment you never thought possible. I started by surrender. When I couldn’t go on, I asked God to help me and gave Him back the life He gave me, to do with whatever He wanted. “Just please help me?” Were my words. My life is incredible today, God Is Great!

The Comfort of Silence

The Comfort of Silence.