When This Woman Needed Advice After Losing A Friend, An Old Man Responded In The Most Beautiful And Heartbreaking Way

Jul 18, 2018 by apost team

No matter what your beliefs about the afterlife might be, we’re all well aware that our inevitable fate is to eventually move on from this planet. We have hopes that when we leave, we positively impacted the world enough to leave a good impression on those who remain and we seek to leave the world a better place than it was when we entered it. Although we’re familiar with the idea of death since birth, it never fails to devastate us when someone close to us passes away. It’s undoubtedly one of the most difficult concepts we must learn to grasp as humans.

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Death of someone close to us can leave a hole in our hearts that might never be repaired. The thought of never being able to touch your loved ones again, hear their voice, or tell them all the words you’ve left unspoken is devastating and unbearable.

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For one woman, her life changed forever when she decided to ask for advice on Reddit, an online community of forums. She had recently dealt with the passing of her best friend and was still mourning the death when she decided to ask the online community for advice on the grieving process. The title of her original post reads:

Many members of the online community took the opportunity to share their own stories of grief, and many others said their condolences towards the original poster. But one reply in particular, from a user named GSnow, received the most “upvotes,” with good reason. The self-confessed “old man” writes a beautiful response to the mourning woman. His reply reads a life lesson that we should all hear. The advice reads, in part, as follows:

“I wish I could say you get used to people dying. I never did. I don't want to. It tears a hole through me whenever somebody I love dies, no matter the circumstances... My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person. And if the scar is deep, so was the love… Scars are a testament that I can love deeply and live deeply and be cut, or even gouged, and that I can heal and continue to live and continue to love."

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This honest and life-changing advice brings a new perspective to love and loss. The man goes on to describe the loss of others as waves that we must endure throughout our lives. He talks about the blessing that each person who enters, and inevitably leaves, our lives is to us. He teaches us that coping with the grieving process means that we have loved hard, and we are brave and courageous for that. He continues by stating:

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"Take it from an old guy." 

"The waves never stop coming, and somehow you don't really want them to... And you'll survive them too. If you're lucky, you'll have lots of scars from lots of loves. And lots of shipwrecks.”

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Death of a loved one might leave you with wounds that never fully heal, but the bond you worked to grow with the person and the memories you’ve made together will never leave your side. The people you have loved and the lessons they taught you will never leave your heart and soul. It’s normal to go through the grieving process when the unthinkable happens, but never lose sight of how much love you still have to give.

Have you ever dealt with grief, or do you know someone who should hear this old man’s advice?