When we experience a profound loss, it often feels as though the ground beneath our feet has simply vanished. We expect grief to be a straight line, a mountain we can climb until we reach a peak of peace, but Joanne Cacciatore reminds us of a much more fluid reality. She tells us that in grief, nothing stays put and nothing stays the same, because healing moves in waves. This means that grief isn't a destination you arrive at, but a shifting tide that ebbs and flows, sometimes pulling you out to sea and other times gently washing over your toes.

In our daily lives, we often try to fight these waves. We tell ourselves we should be 'over it' by now, or we feel guilty when a sudden burst of laughter is followed immediately by a heavy sob. It is so easy to feel like we are failing at healing because we cannot find a sense of permanence. But the beauty of the wave metaphor is that it acknowledges the instability of loss. Some days, the water is calm and you can breathe easily, while other days, a massive swell hits you out of nowhere, triggered by something as simple as the smell of a certain perfume or a song on the radio.

I remember a time when I felt like I was making such wonderful progress. I was finally starting to enjoy my morning walks again and felt a sense of stability returning to my routine. Then, one rainy Tuesday, I saw a small, blue umbrella in a shop window that looked exactly like one my dear friend used to carry. In an instant, the calm was gone, and I was back in the middle of a turbulent storm, feeling lost and overwhelmed. It felt like all my progress had been erased, but as I sat with my feelings, I realized that the wave wasn't destroying me; it was just passing through. The tide was simply moving, and I was learning how to float.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by a sudden surge of sadness today, please try to be gentle with yourself. Do not judge the height of the wave or the strength of the current. Instead, try to focus on just staying afloat for this one moment. Healing doesn't require you to master the ocean; it only requires you to trust that the tide will eventually recede and leave you on calmer shores. Take a deep breath and remember that even in the midst of the movement, you are still here, and you are still healing.