Life has a way of humbling us and sending subtle or not to subtle, reminders that we aren’t in control.

Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a devastating diagnosis, rejection, or maneuvering through an episode of depression, when dealing with a heavy heart, we’re often faced with the task of juggling our fast-paced world, full of responsibilities, and trying to adequately identify and manage our emotions.

A little over a week ago, I lost my grandfather. I’m extremely close to my maternal grandparents (whom I lovingly call Mommom and Poppop) and despite the fact that Poppop has been in and out of the hospital for the past few months, his death came as a shocker. I was heartbroken when Mommom called me with the news. He’s survived almost anything you can think of.

Losing Poppop wasn’t the first rough patch this year. 

The past 9 months of my life have been a whirlwind. I got married and moved across the country, relocated twice, went 3 months without a full-time job, loss two grandparents (my dad’s mom and my mom’s dad), and had a host of family stressors that weighed heavy on my heart.

I’m not going to pretend that I have all the answers, because I don’t. I’m still pushing through my circumstance, but I will say that each of these tough experiences taught me something about life. Lessons that can lighten a heavy heart. 

Where There’s Life, There’s Hope– no matter how hard it gets, if you’re still living, if you’re still here, there’s hope. There’s an opportunity for you to do something great!

Live Fully in the Present & Capture the Moments You Cherish- ever since my dad passed away in 2007, I became my family’s personal paparazzi. Although I live in the moment, I make time to capture the moments I live for. It brought my heart great joy to watch the videos I recorded of my grandfather back in 2013 when he was in the hospital. He told me how he wanted to be remembered when he’s gone and gave me a family history lesson that I can keep forever.

It’s Okay to Get Help– when my dad passed away I pretty much sucked it up and hid from the pain. I didn’t allow myself to fully feel my emotions and as a result, it took me more than 7 years to be at peace with his untimely death. This time around, I’m going to seek out a grieving counselor to assist me as I cope.

Over the past few days I’ve read countless articles about coping with loss. I found the following mantras to be healing, inspiring, and thought-provoking.

10 Mantras to Lighten Your Heavy Heart

I hope that you can find a dose of inspiration from below:

1. “I choose to see this situation as an opportunity for growth.” –Shannon Kaiser

2. “Peace, supreme peace take this grief, purify it and return it to me in a usable form.” –Aly M. Good

3. “There are no rewards given for how fast I grieve and mourn. I had better be compassionate with myself.” –Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D

4. “As I allow myself to mourn, I create an opening in my heart. Releasing tensions of grief, surrendering to the struggle, means freeing myself to go forward.” –Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D

5. “Mourning never really completely ends, only as time goes on and I do my mourning work, it erupts less frequently.” –Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D

6. “I turn to love instead of loss.” –Shannon Kaiser

7. “Everything that happens is part of a bigger plan.” –Shannon Kaiser

8. “Wisdom comes from healed pain.” –Shannon Kaiser

9. “Allowing myself to feel is allowing myself to heal.” –Stephanie Eissinger

10. “Letting go is not forgetting, it is opening my heart and releasing the pain.” –Stephanie Eissinger

What do you think helps the grieving process? Does it last forever?
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