Happiness after loss. Is it possible? To be honest, during my first year of widowhood, and most of my second year, I was in such a dark place that happiness seemed to be gone forever. And even almost nine years later, I still have trouble sometimes just enjoying life the way it is now. I have to remind myself on a regular basis that I must give myself permission to feel happy again!
What is happiness? Life doesn’t have to be perfect to find happiness—it never will be anyway. Happiness is a state of mind, and no matter how terrible life may seem sometimes, it is possible to find little moments of happiness, even amidst sorrow and pain. The thing is, happiness is something you have to work on. And when you’re grieving, it’s especially hard!
How long will you grieve? How long will they be dead?
– David Kessler
Grief Work: A Necessary Foundation for Finding Happiness Again
Grief never ends. It doesn’t just go away. You have to work through your grief, perhaps by joining a grief support group, reading books on grief and healing, etc. (Please check out my resources for dealing with grief.) Grief work, in my opinion, is the foundation that will allow you to move forward and be happy again. I don’t like the phrase “move on” because it suggests we can abandon that part of our lives and leave it in the past. But the person we lost—and our grief—will always be part of us. It is something we have to learn to live with.
Give Yourself Permission To Be Happy Again
We also must give ourselves permission to be happy again. It might be short moments of joy and happiness at first, maybe something you enjoy for a few minutes, like a special coffee as a treat, relaxing in a comfy hammock outside, looking at the sunset etc. It’s about making a conscious effort to fully immerse yourself in the moment, whatever it may be, and simply enjoy it.
It gets easier as time goes on and I’m mostly happy now, but I think it will always be something I have to work on.
No Feelings of Guilt!
This is something I struggled with tremendously in the beginning: feelings of guilt whenever I actually did enjoy something! After all, I was widowed now! Wasn’t I supposed to be sad all the time?
Please don’t ever feel guilty about having fun and being joyful and happy again. It doesn’t matter where you are on your grief journey, do what you want to do and what is right for you. It’s your life. Live it. And allow happiness!
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Thank you so much to the wonderful Daisy, from My Widowed Heart, for this hopeful and inspiring post on grief and happiness. I’m sure you’ll agree that this is a very uplifting read.
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Thank you for sharing Daisy’s marvelous post!
So heartfelt 💞
This is a great post. Thank you for sharing a very difficult subject.
Great post and happiness… could be a chimera from the human beings… moments of happiness… no doubt and a bed of roses …I think no!
🤍
This is a great post. I have only one thing I can add. Whenever the opportunity to enjoy myself arises, I imagine my wife at my side enjoying it with me. I sometimes stop to admire and talk to horses as she would have done so she knows I think of the things she liked too. Our loved ones would never deny our joy when they were with us and thy wouldn’t want us to feel the guilt now. That’s what love does, shares the pleasure.
Massive Hugs.
Beautiful comment David x
One can be sad at times and still be at peace. Very well written.
Happiness is simply a decision- 4 Pillars of Abundant Life 😊 and is the Pillar 1 😊
I so agree x
I needed this today. It’s almost a year since my son died and grief rears its ugly head at the most inopportune moments. I’ve learned to go ahead and walk through the process. I don’t know that I’ve experienced happiness in a while, but joy shows up often in little ways. Joy is different from happiness. Happiness is cause and effect for me. Joy is more of an attitude. It grants hope even on my bad days when the grief is overwhelming. Thank you all for what you do.
Thank you so much for sharing x you are not alone x
People magazine had a recent feature on the Welsh singer Tom Jones. When his wife of 59 years was dying, she told him, “Don’t die with me.”
Wow. That’s powerful. Thank you for sharing x
Thanks!
I love this post! Thank you for for connecting and sharing all you’ve learned; I hope to begin the baby stepping process soon.
It took time for me but finally the penny dropped. One life ended but that doesn’t mean a new life can’t start as well.
What an honest and truthful sentiment 🤍