#Trust30 Day 11: Divine Idea

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Divine Idea by Fabian Kruse

Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down in which areas of your life you have to overcome these suicidal tendencies of imitation, and how you can transform them into a newborn you – one that doesn’t hide its uniqueness, but thrives on it. There is a “divine idea which each of us represents” – which is yours?

(Author: Fabian Kruse)

When I read some of these prompts, I feel like they are talking to someone else - my life just isn't that grand and maybe isn't even that purpose-full. It is somewhat uncomfortable to realize that maybe I just don't think in these terms...

Anyway, the one way that I have not imitated and have embraced my uniqueness is in my grief process. I was so lucky that I was not constrained by the societal "shoulds" - I could tell that my grieving process was sometimes misunderstood or made people uncomfortable after Roby died, but I was so raw - like someone had stripped all the skin off my body. My family had never taught me some of the repressive ways of the American grieving process (pacing, covering up, not talking about it, etc.).  I couldn't do anything that looked or sounded like pretending - it just WAS. I was sort of surprised daily by waking up still alive, so the rest sort of just happened.

Once I worked through the rawest stages and as I was frantically reading books about death and dying, I realized that I had been given an incredible gift by the people who knew me - space and time to grieve in the way I needed - and that many people don't have that luxury. As I have moved along through the world, I have tried to support others in their grief process - in knowing that it is different for each person and that honoring your own process is so important.

I guess this is one area where I have really followed my own path. Maybe it wasn't MY divine idea, but it ended up being something I believe, something I support and something that I try to remember every day.