Anonimo
Grief
Grief is a very weird and misunderstood emotion. It is not only when you lose something or someone but also when you miss your older self, when you regret a past decision, when you miss your people, or when you want things different for yourself or as something as simple as not getting your favorite ice cream flavor. It shows up uninvited in the strangest places—in an old song that used to mean nothing and suddenly means everything, in a childhood home that isn't yours anymore; and in the version of you that existed before certain things happened and knew less but somehow felt lighter. It's grieving friendships that quietly faded without a proper goodbye, grieving the plans you made that never came true, and grieving time itself—the way it moves forward whether you're ready or not.
We think grief needs a funeral to be valid, but really, it just needs loss, and loss comes in a thousand disguises: a missed opportunity, a changed relationship, a dream you've slowly stopped chasing. Maybe that's why it's so misunderstood—we're taught to grieve people, not moments, not versions of ourselves, not the small, quiet deaths that happen every day without anyone noticing. But grief doesn't check if the loss was "big enough" to count. It just asks to be felt.
The line about grieving versions of yourself really got me. I don't think we talk enough about that kind of grief. Sometimes nothing "bad" happens, but you still find yourself missing a person, a place, or even an old version of your own life. This put that feeling into words really well.
I agree with you. grief is not only associated with death. grief can be associated with any sorrow. no grief is big or small. grief requires attention so that we can overcome it.