One of the reasons why we create our pieces is because it offers a tangible reminder of a poignant time in our lives. This week, as we release a new batch of Vintage Restored Lockets, we asked our friend Kelli to share with us her intimate feelings of grief and how she has learned to carry the memories of those we cherish.

 

An Ode to Grief

by Kelli Chun

I feel well acquainted with grief. I endured a significant loss at a very young age, probably the most painful loss a young girl could experience. When I look back, that event feels like an introduction to the “Great Losses.” I spent half my life believing that grief had an end date. You move through the 5 stages of grief, the last being acceptance and you close the door behind you with no intention of entering that room again. But, grief is more complex than that. With most things in life, there is beauty to be found as we move through it. How we deal with loss in our lives inevitably informs the way we receive new things into our lives. One of the most important lessons I learned about grief was that it’s a part of me. We carry our losses through life and not in a way that weighs us down or holds us back but in a way that allows us to acknowledge our past without denying our pain. We accept that loss is a part of life, that grief has no exceptions of who it touches, it is inevitably part of the human experience. I think we can all agree that 2020 revealed just HOW human we all are. 

My greatest loss was my mom. At the tender age of 11, my mom died of breast cancer and while it wasn’t sudden, nothing can prepare you for what death feels like. It isn't just the loss of life we grieve, it’s also the experiences we won’t have, the cord of relationship that’s cut too soon, the love that you didn't get to fully express and the time you no longer get to share. Those feelings don't go away with time, if anything they get triggered when least expected and sometimes cause you to deal with grief all over again. Are there things in your life that need space to be grieved?

Loss should be felt, acknowledged, sat in, surrendered and repeated whenever we need to. But our gains should be felt too. They should be looked at in the face and told how grateful you are for them. There will always be pieces missing from our hearts but when we take a moment and see what fills the spaces, the emptiness doesn’t feel so big anymore.