Grief is the last act of love we can give to those we loved. Where there is deep grief there was great love. Grief is a sacred rite of passage and should be respected as such. It s a heroes journey filled with deep, dark sorrow, messy twists and turns, courageous battles, love, joy and unexpected surprises. Through the darkness of grief we see the light of love which transcends death. And with all the pain that grief brings, it can also bring us gratitude, for the gift of time we had with our loved ones, the amount of which will always be too short, and for the pain that we would ensure again and again, because that pain is the result of loving someone so much that it hurts to let their physical presence go.