Tonkin’s display of grief is more accurate in describing how grief does not shrink, but we grow and our life learns to grow around it. Grief does not get smaller or shrink, but remains the same size but it can become less of an impact as we adjust in our life.
The article from What’s Your Grief, “Growing Around Grief” illustrates these concepts with various diagrams. The article states,
“The grief and loss never felt smaller, but her life slowly felt bigger. It grew around her loss. Her grief was always there, as large as ever, and she still spent time within it. As her life had slowly expanded around her loss, she was now able to experience life in the larger part of the circle as well. With this, the ‘Growth Around Grief’ concept was born.”
To read the entire article, please click here
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling
In the meantime, we should all understand that grief and loss do not become less because our love cannot become less but we do learn to grow around our grief and the sharp impact becomes less as we grow and adjust.