[Mid] Grief

Everyone expresses grief differently.

Last year, three days after I got back from Pennsic (the year the
gentleman hanged himself) one of my coworkers, her twin sister, and
their mother were killed in an auto accident. I found out about it
on the radio on my way to work and was the one to share it with my
coworkers.

They were African-Americans, and I'd never been to a funeral of
that ethnic group. It was very different. Lots of "amen!" and "tell
it like it is!" and very open displays of emotion, more than what
many of us would be familiar with.

I found it a bit unsettling, but I also realized that the diversity
of the different groups in this country is part of what makes us so
strong. I looked at it as a learning experience.

Sometimes the very open display of emotion is preferable to the
times when the feelings are kept inside and internalized. They can
fester and manifest later in destructive and detrimental ways, and
can deeply and profoundly affect one's psyche.

Psyc 101 observation for the day :-)

M. Siobhan
From: "Judith Kirk" <Kirk@ucs5.cc.wmich.edu>
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ to unsubscribe, send a message to
`~-, ,-~`~-, ,-~`~-, ,-~`~-, ,-~` majordomo@midrealm.org with
. | | | | | | | | 'unsubscribe sca-middle' as its body.
Received on Fri Dec 3 10:50:36 1999