Grief allies

Yesterday I was moved by three words that Jason Rosenthal used in his TED talk. This lead me to think about what we can do to become an ally for those who grieve, within the professional roles we play.

What would it look like to become a grief ally? How can I inject this into my work, and then bring it forward as something I can encourage in my team, my peers, my profession? 

As a fundraiser, I'm already a natural listener and observer. I feel these skillsets are innate for me. But, as my husband will tell you, I am also very opinionated, and I try to help or solve OFTEN. Also, I play devil's advocate to help people see different points of view. 

I think that for me being a grief ally is suppressing some of myself. I'm sure I have gotten it wrong more than a few times. I think being a grief ally is also about continuing to remind myself that my opinions, thoughts, statements, and (most certainly) judgements are not helpful. 

I'll have to continue in my journey if I really want to hone this skillset. Grief ally-dom is not likely something we can ever perfect. Pain is very hard to sit with, and not fix. I think being a grief ally is about knowing that.