Skip to content

Today

Healing & Health

Grief = Unspent Love

What is grief?

Article · 3 min read · ·

59likes19comments1,318views

This is what I think it is : All the love you didn’t get to give, still alive inside you.

Illustration for Grief = Unspent Love

Grief isn’t always loud.

It doesn’t always look like mourning clothes or tears.

Sometimes, it shows up in silence… in longing… in the ache of what could’ve been.

Someone is grieving a job they poured their identity into.

Another is grieving the person they thought they’d grow old with.

Some grieve a past version of life - simpler, softer, less overwhelming.

Many are grieving the loss of who they used to be, not yet fully landed in who they’re becoming.

They’re in the in-between. And that space? It hurts.

Some are grieving the body that once felt beautiful, strong, or pain-free.

Others are grieving the kind of joy they see on screens but can’t seem to feel.

And many women ..quietly, fiercely - are grieving dreams of motherhood,

while others grieve the guilt of not being able to show up fully for the children they do have.

But here’s the thing:

Grief doesn’t always get space in the world we live in.

We’re taught to look okay.

To smile.

To post the highlight reel even when we’re falling apart inside.

What a heavy load to carry your pain .. and pretend it doesn’t exist.

So I want to say this gently, but clearly:

What you’re feeling is real.

You don’t have to announce it to the everyone - but you don’t have to silence it either.

You deserve a place to feel.

To name what’s hurting.

To soften the grip of pain without shame.

And would you believe me if I said ~

sometimes, just one safe conversation…

one loving reframe…

can begin to change how you think, how you feel, how you experience life?

You’re not alone.

Not in this. Not ever.

Illustration for Grief = Unspent Love

And if you’re grieving… here’s how to begin feeling just a little bit better (without needing to be “okay” right away):

• Let it move through you.

Grief isn’t meant to be solved ~ it is meant to be felt. Don’t rush it. Let your body cry, ache, go quiet. That’s healing, not weakness.

• Speak to it.

Write a letter to the version of you that’s hurting or to the thing/person/hope you’ve lost. Sometimes clarity comes not from fixing - but from acknowledging.

• Find safe company.

Not everyone knows how to hold grief. But someone will. One person who listens without trying to change you, can make all the difference.

• Feel it in layers.

You don’t have to heal all at once.

Just ask yourself: What does today need? Maybe it’s tea. Maybe it’s tears. Maybe it’s a walk in silence.

• Turn the love inward.

Grief is unspent love. What if you began to redirect just a drop of that love back to yourself? Back to the parts of you still here?

• Reframe “moving on” to “moving with.”

You don’t have to leave your grief behind. You can carry it gently, like a memory, not a weight.

• Make space for meaning.

It won’t come right away ~ but in time, grief often transforms. Into wisdom. Into depth. Into the way you love others more deeply than before.

There is no shortcut through grief.

But there is softness.

There is gentleness.

There is the quiet miracle of feeling a little more whole than the day before.

You don’t need to get over it.

You only need to get through it.

And you don’t have to do that alone.

Much love,

Savi

Comments

Candy EstradaMay 17
My first born was ripped from my life on March 22, 2023, at the age of 28. Hit head on by drunk driver at 4am while driving his motorcycle to work. Imploding my son’s body on the highway. We’ve been living a nightmare ever since. I was 15 when I had my son. Our bond was different than my other babies. He was so full of life, love and joy. He was my light. I don’t remember life before him. I’ve never felt such pain. Which says ALOT because I’ve been thru alot of trauma physical&mental. But nothing compares to this gut wrenching pain that gripped a hold of my life n dragged me down into a dark hole. Waking up to the reality of him no longer being here each day is the hardest thing to do. Finding the will to hold on and push myself up out of bed for my 3 kids & his 3 babies he left behind is a struggle. Which fills me with guilt knowing how much I’ve neglected them while lost in my pain. I LOVE ALL MY BEAUTIFUL BABIES. I don’t ever want them to feel otherwise. I remind them constantly while apologizing for my mental state. They’re the reason I’m still here holding on fighting to find my way back. The guy was sentenced Feb. 27 of this year. My family can finally begin to focus on the healing process rather than writhing in pain as we endured the court hearings listening to everything that happened to my baby’s body that night. Not being able to hold my baby and kiss him goodbye takes its toll. Having to explain to my 5 year old grandson and 7 year old son that he was really gone Because they refused to believe it since they couldn’t “see him in the box” like they did when my grandma & brother laid in their caskets was the hardest conversation I’ve ever had. My heart hurts in ways you cannot fathom. BUT I REFUSE to succumb to the darkness anymore. It has ruled over me for far too long. I have to choose life and positivity to set the example for my babies & his babies. I KNOW my son WILL always be within us all and that’s what I hear him telling me to do♥️
CharlotteMay 16
I lost my oldest child, my 28 year old son, seven years ago. Some days the grief sits heavy on me. I have complicated grief, and I think I finally found the right therapist for me. I’ve been looking and trying for years. I try to be happy for my husband and two daughters, but every day it is a battle.
Candy Estrada @CharlotteMay 17
I’m praying for strength & light to surround you & enter your heart to help you on this difficult journey of indescribable pain and suffering. There simply is NO understanding of it UNLESS you’ve lived through it. Smh I battle with myself daily trying to fight the darkness. It’s crazy how you can be in a room FULL of people yet feel so alone unable to keep up with the conversations going on around you. I SWEAR I HEAR my son asking me “Mom what advice & guidance would you give me if I were in youre position? How would you want me to live out the rest of my life?” I can see him making that smile he’d give me like “you KNOW what youd say SO DO IT!” But advice is so much easier to give than it is to take. The guilt I have for the time I lost with him while he was living due to work, tiredness etc. reminds me that I’ve been repeating those same mistakes with his sister, brothers and babies over the past two years so lost in this pain. I remember him saying “you could be hanging out with me & the kids at my house but NO you’re working late instead!” I would tell him “oh Darian Tyler stop being silly we have plenty of time for that.” Those words HAUNT ME DAILY. So I TRY my best to find a way to show myself forgiveness and grace so that I can find the strength to push through another day in light and love to prevent myself from being swallowed up by anger and bitterness. Because I easily spiral out of control down the rabbit hole of darkness that is so very hard for me to climb back out of NO MATTER how many blessings I know I have around. So believe me when I say YOU ARE NOT ALONE I FEEL AND UNDERSTAND YOUR PAIN. And I’m rooting for you to find the strength you need to climb back out of the darkness every time too.♥️🙏🏼I believe in you. I believe we both can find a way to live through this. Repeat it to yourself even when you don’t believe it and continue picking yourself back up. That’s all we can do right? 🤷🏻‍♀️wishing you Light and love 💕
EVA NorrisMay 16
I lost my husband 17 years ago I’ve bend going through as well as in and out of grief constantly. I just feel the feelings at the point and tell myself this too shall pass and I know his spirit is with me all the time. The hearts won’t go out they are connected continuously and constantly. 🙏🏻👼🤍❤️‍🩹💃🏼🔥🍀❤️💫💕
VictoriaMay 16
My friends Grandad passed away recently this would be lovely to send to her and her family ✨💚🤍
ElisaMay 16
10 years ago today I delivered my daughter, still born at full term. This felt sent for me today. Thank you for this.
Giulia Amorim
Giulia AmorimMay 15
🪬📿🩷
Show more
Maria IshikawaMay 15
I just had dream of grief, crying and waking up with this notification in my phone..the time is so perfect . Thank you
TannerMay 15
❤️❤️❤️
Chrissy FongMay 15
Savi, thank you for sharing this beautiful piece on grief. I liken my grief experience to ocean waves. For me, I find the tides get further apart with time, but in an instant the pain and longing can come flooding back before ebbing again.
KelseayMay 15
I was feeling heavy today, but now the weight’s a little lighter. Thank you for that ❤️
💜Amanda💜May 15
My son’s friend passed away last week. And this really helps. Thank you
Justin Kutter BealMay 15
this brings joy
VickieMay 15
That really made sense to me and helped me. Dealing with the loss of my sister and mother within just a few months. Thank you
AFRMay 15
My brother and best friend passed away recently and his birthday is coming up and I needed this ty
Albert ZimmermanMay 15
Beautiful and thank you
Kayla CornilsMay 15
My husband passed 05/21/2023, this came across my phone just as I was thinking it’ll be a long week and feeling it heavy today.
Kelly BielkeMay 15
Beautiful
MileHighCityWitch ♐️ ♎️ ♊️
MileHighCityWitch ♐️ ♎️ ♊️May 15
Thank you, Savvi. I Found out yesterday evening a friend passed away suddenly on Saturday. My heart is broken for her family. 💔 As an empath, I sit holding my emotions today and them holding me as well. My favorite lines: ❤️‍🩹❣️💘 It won’t come right away ~ but in time, grief often transforms. Into wisdom. Into depth. Into the way you love others more deeply than before. Thank you for your thoughts and words and taking the time to share.