At the end of the day, grieving in a healthy manner is a choice. Your pet wouldn’t want you to think about that painful moment of death or the sickness that took place at the end of his or her life. He or she would want you to think about the love you both shared.
Feel the pain.
We all want to escape the pain of loss, but it’s important to take the time to grieve. Grief is a natural process that we all must go through. It’s the gateway to healing and being able to move on.
But how do you do this?
The answer lies in a concept called mindfulness. That’s the act of being in the present moment. It’s the conscious effort to feel in order to heal.
“The only way to completely heal and move on is to fully embrace the pain by letting it arise and pass,” says Dr. William R. Marchand, a psychiatrist, author and mindfulness teacher in Salt Lake City. “Through this, we can see the beauty of both love and loss. We could not experience love without the reality of impermanence – and we cannot fully understand impermanence without the pain of love lost.”
To be mindful in the face of death, try to be present with the pain. Don’t shove it under the rug. This will only prolong the process of grief itself. Let yourself cry and mourn. This is a healthy thing. It’s the only way to allow your feelings to arise and then pass.