The Grief That's For Real

The grief that's for real, the big one, it comes from a recognition of the way life is and must be, that it requires death to be able to continue because death feeds everything that lives. The recognition that that's the case and that it includes, not just you, that's the easy part to see, but it includes the people that you love and the things that you don't want to end. That's grief and it's not personal. But the key, the real skill to being grateful is not to be grateful for the stuff that benefits you. That's easy. What about being grateful for the stuff that doesn't benefit you in the least, but you're grateful that it's in the world? Now you're getting somewhere. 

Stephen Jenkinson