Grief affects everyone. It cannot be avoided. It’s not simple. We frequently view the pain of losing a loved one as something to “get through” in today’s fast-paced world. However, grief rituals are used by many cultures worldwide to help honor the loss of a loved one.
All grieving rituals share the same trait: they enable you to recover control over your feelings and life. After a traumatic loss, having a way of coping with sorrow makes the grieving person feel more in control. We know loss’s devastating effects on mental health, but you can recover via spirituality and ritual.
Different Grief Rituals for Different People
Grief rituals can be both private and spiritual and take many different shapes. A typical funeral or memorial service followed by a burial can significantly aid in the healing process for many. Others must select their traditional rites in addition to funeral services if they are to find peace and healing.
It makes it more important for funeral services to be adaptable and provide a range of choices. For this reason, cremation is popular. Different options for timing, location, and burial are available with cremation, including “scattering of the remains.”
The custom and private rituals you choose to perform before, during, and even after the services may be more significant than the manner and location of your loved one’s burial. You can remember and honor your loved ones by eating at their favorite restaurant, toasting them with their favorite drink at family gatherings, or leaving a thoughtful gesture at their cemetery.
Here are seven healing practices to help you manage your grief –
Leaving a memorial with a memorial gift
Numerous visitors opt for items like flowers, balloons, teddy bears, letters, photos, stones, or even something more unusual like their preferred candy bar.
Bury a time capsule
Often, a gravesite is inconvenient to your home or community, or you might not have access to their cremation urn or scattered remains. Putting together a time capsule and burying it can be a therapeutic way to honor your loved one and remember some of the things that made them unique. You can include:
- Their favorite hat.
- Some photos.
- Stories of your time together.
- Maybe their favorite CD of music.
Doing this can create a spot for ritual closer to your home.
Remember them on a special anniversary
You might choose to make a toast or read something special at a gathering later down the road, maybe on a special day in history you had with them or on their birthday.
Adorn Cremation Jewelry
Many people are unclear how to store or distribute the ashes after a loved one has been cremated. Cremation jewelry is an ideal way to share the ashes with family or friends who might want to preserve a tiny piece and carry your loved one with you, as opposed to burial or putting all of the cremains in one big urn.
A modest amount of cremains, a strand of hair, or a few dried remembrance flower petals can all be stored in an cremation urn pendant. Except for cylinder-shaped jewelry, which will only contain around a pinch of cremains, most jewelry may hold a small amount of cremains.
Publish a letter
You can make your letters as short or as long as you like. They say exactly what you want them to say: things you wished you could have said before they died or memories you shared with them. It may be both extraordinary and healing. You can leave it with them before they are buried at their grave or keep it with yourself.
Message them on Facebook
After someone passes away, their Facebook profile frequently becomes a place of remembrance where friends and family may share memories and condolences.
Accept sadness when it arises
Even though there isn’t a specific ritual, this step might be crucial for everyone experiencing loss. It’s important to be alert when you might need to grieve or mourn your loss since you cannot control your sadness. When you are traveling and hear a specific song on the radio, when you locate anything that belongs to them, when you overhear a passing discussion or both, it may occur. Grief itself must be expressed; some people even choose to embrace it.
Keep in mind that they are not forgotten!
A grief ritual enables you and other friends and family members to recall and reflect on the life of your loved one and aids in your healing as you recover control over your emotions – a recurring custom.
How to Help When Others Are Grieving?
Knowing what to say or do when someone has lost something might be difficult. Here are some suggestions for supporting someone who is already mourning.
Refrain from saving or fixing
Keep in mind that the individual who is mourning does not require fixing. We can try to help by encouraging or humorous remarks to lessen their suffering.
Don’t push it
We may feel compelled to encourage someone to talk about and process their emotions before they are genuinely ready because we want to assist and make them feel better so badly.
Maintain accessibility
Give individuals a place to grieve. It lets them know we’re here for them whenever they’re ready.