Grief is a Spiritual Necessity, not Something to Endure
Rabbi Earl Grollman wrote:
“Grief is not a disorder, a disease, or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical, and spiritual necessity—the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.”
The first time I read those words, I didn’t feel better. I felt understood.
It was a year ago, around the second anniversary of my brother’s passing. I remember questioning myself every day: Is this it? Is this what it’s going to feel like forever?
Because nothing prepares you for the permanence. How grief doesn’t just break your heart, it rearranges your reality.
It changes your sense of safety. It changes how you move through the world.
It changes you.
And still, the world doesn’t just expect you to survive it. It expects you to recover. To be strong. To move on. To find closure. To smile. And get back to “normal.”
But grief?
Grief bends even the strongest spines.
Some days it’s a whisper. Other days, it knocks the wind out of you. It doesn’t care how long it’s been. It finds you in the present, in a moment you never expect, in a memory you didn’t ask for.
That’s why Grollman’s words are so important. Because they don’t try to dismiss grief, they dignify it. They don’t minimize it, they meet it.
His words speak the truth the world won’t: Grief is not weakness. It’s not failure. It’s not a disease to cure. It’s a necessity. It’s what love demands after loss.
And it isn’t just about what’s gone, it’s about what remains.
It’s not a flaw in your healing, but a reflection of your love. A love that refuses to leave, even after they’re gone.
Grief is not a sign that something is wrong with you. It’s a sign that something was right. That you lived and loved, and were loved in return.
So let yourself grieve. Loudly or quietly. All at once or in slow, steady waves. Without guilt. Without apology. Without end.
Because the only cure for grief is…to grieve.
And our grief is forever, because our love is, too.
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Our next GriefShare session will begin March 5th.
Go to Find a Group – GriefShare for the next free 13-week session near you.
Peace! G.