Since 2014, August 30^th has been recognized as National Grief Awareness Day and creates visibility for the issues and experiences surrounding bereavement. In Mueller Memorial’s Grief Compass aftercare program we often address how challenging it can be to openly discuss grief in a culture that is very death-averse.

Having a national day of awareness gives us an opportunity to reflect on our grief experiences and explore how we might help others through the lessons grief has taught us. Sharing wisdom you’ve gained can be part of how you make meaning of your loss. You could use August 30^th as a day to reach out to someone you know who may be new to bereavement, and offer them an open and listening ear.

Grief Awareness Day could also be a day you reflect on how your life has changed since you have experienced loss. Depending on how much time has passed and how you’re feeling about your loss, this reflection could be as simple as assessing the effects loss has had on your life and recognizing challenges you’ve overcome and identifying obstacles you have yet to conquer.

If there is some distance from your loss and you find yourself in a place where you could be able to see what you’ve gained from grief, some questions you could ask yourself are; What can I do to help create meaning from my loss? How has my loss changed me for the better? How can my loss make the world or my community a better place? What relationships has my loss created or improved? How has my loss made me stronger? How has it made me wiser?

We often think, “all of this pain can’t be for nothing,” and this sort of reflection on National Grief Awareness Day (or whenever you’re ready for it) can help you identify the growth that you’ve experienced as a result of your grief and maybe even help someone else in need.

If you’d like more information on best practices for thoughtfully supporting someone through grief visit our Grief Compass article at griefcompass.com/griefsupport