All events are blessings given to us to learn from. - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Discovering and being authentic to our-selves, finding out what we want to do and do not want to do — we do this by being committed to our own experiences. We must do everything because it brings us joy and peace, from the job we have to the clothes we wear.

Jennifer was told to be strong for her children when her husband died. Today she wonders about the message her dry eyes implied. Did her children think she didn’t care? “What if I did cry in front of the kids? What if I modeled grief for them in that way? I could have said, ‘Mommy is sad and crying because Daddy has died.’ I could have reassured them that I was still strong enough to be there for them and take care of them.” Children need to know that strong people cry when loved ones die and that does not hamper their ability to go on with life.

The belief has long died that suffering here on earth will be rewarded in heaven. Suffering has lost its meaning.