A final word

I wish I wrote this. 
It's amazing. 
It's spot. on. true. 
But I didn't write it and am giving credit where credit is due. 
But it's too good to not share.

This time of loss is a time you will not forget. 
It is a time that is breaking you open and re-shaping you. 
You will never be the same.

Remember: you can shape this time, even as it shapes you. 
You are not powerless. 
You are not entirely at the mercy of whatever has happened to you. 
It may feel that way to you at the moment. 
You may wonder if you'll ever regain control of your ife.
The truth is this: you will and you won't and that's good.

You will regain more control over your life with the passing of time and in the living of your days. 
Your hurt will decrease. 
Your feelings of emptiness will subside. 
You'll be able to look back and see the happiness. 
You'll find yourself starting to look forward and to feel more hopeful. 
You'll sense you're more yourself. 

And, at the same time, you won't regain control. 
For you're coming to know that ultimately much of life is beyond your control and beyond anyone's control.  It can be lived, but it cannot be contained. 
It can be appreciated, but it canot be narrowly confined. 
It can be emraced, but it cannot be held too tightly. 
For life ultimately is a gift. 
It come from far beyond you, and that is also its destiny. 

May the experiences you are living through help you toward those realizations. 
May you be on the pat of living your life for all it's worth. 
And never forget: it's worth a great deal.

--James Miller