Loss is defined as the fact or process of losing someone or something. It is as difficult to deal with as getting out of bed when depressed. Sure, it’s hard to lose things, but it’s much more difficult to lose people, especially when you’re close to them.
So how do you deal with loss? Almost all people would be lying if they said they knew. The truth is people can never truly imagine how it feels to lose someone unless it’s happening to them. And when one does lose someone, sometimes they’re barely breathing, let alone thinking of how to deal with it.
My cousin, Justin Turner, recently passed away at the age of twenty-one. Twenty-one — it’s not an age that people are expected to die at. It is almost incomprehensible that he is truly gone. I didn’t know him that well, but he made a huge impact on so many lives. From his parents, to his fraternity brothers, all the way to the nine people that he has donated his organs to. He touched every one of these lives and made them better. The only negative is that the better the person, the harder to let go. After getting the bad news of his passing, everyone close to Justin began asking the question that had only been said rarely, if at all, in their lives: “How can we possibly get through this loss?” Nobody could answer that, all being lost in grief. But despite no way to get through this, someone thought of a way to get by.
“Pass it on,” they said. Everything that you loved about the person; give those things to others. If you loved how they would always stand by their friends’ sides no matter what, become the friend who is always there. If their smile had a way of making you smile every time you saw it, begin gifting your smile to those around you. If it amazed you how courageous they were, start being more courageous. Just pass their love, and wonderful traits, on to others.
People may not be able to fully move on when someone dies. It can hurt for a while, and it can be a terrible pain to bear. But you can sit and be in despair each day because of the loss from yesterday, or you can choose to stand and be joyful each day because of all the good things and memories they left behind for you. And to honor those memories, and celebrate their life, one of the best things to do is to wake up each day and say to yourself, “I’m going to pass it on.”
