Taking a Risk after Surviving a Loss
to Bloom in the Spring
By Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT
After the long winter come the warm days of spring to melt
away the enshrouding white blanket of grief. The once white
landscape is altered turning into bright fields of multi-hued
wildflowers, as the lands and animals awaken from their
long winter’s sleep into springtime and life.
Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS
Without a doubt, spring is my favorite season; it is a time of rebirth and
renewal. The beauty in this time of year can be used as a way to help explain
grief to those living with loss. Poets and writers have used imagery of the
changing seasons to explain loss, grief and how people cope with life-changing
events. Author Molly Fumia wrote, “The season of mourning, like spring,
summer, fall and winter, will also pass.”
Images from Microsoft Clip Art and Maria Li Winter Forest, G & A Scholiers. Crocus, Bethany Carlson. Icicle Arch 2. Royalty Free Use.
Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote, “We must live through the dreary winter if we would
value the spring…” The chilling, bleakness and desolation of winter when plants lie
dormant and animals go into hibernation is a good description of the emotional state of
someone dealing with a loss. In contrast, the approaching spring with the emerging plant
and animal life is a good way to describe how a grieving person feels as she begins to re-
enter life and begin anew after living through a loss.
Grief Descends Like a Winter Storm
When grieving a loss many people pull back into themselves, like a bear wanting to sleep
through the winter, as the grief engulf and overwhelms them. I wrote in an article on the
healing qualities of nature:
Grief descends like a winter snowstorm, covering
everything in sight, in a mind-numbing blanket of
sorrow. When a life-changing loss occurs, it is as if
one has entered an eternal state of winter.
Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS
Images from Microsoft Clip Art and Maria Li Winter Forest, G & A Scholiers. Crocus, Bethany Carlson. Icicle Arch 2. Royalty Free Use.
Holding on to the Hope of Spring
The seasons that change in a predictable pattern year after year serve as enduring
reminders that nothing is permanent. In the darkest of times, memories of happier, more
enjoyable times can sustain us and provide hope as we stand like crocuses heralding the
coming of spring.
Like a crocus in the snow,
I stand knee-deep in winter
Holding springtime in my heart.
Joan Walsh Anglund
Holding on to the hope of the spring, knowing that days filled with warmth and sunshine
will return once again can help us get through the gloom of winter. Author Sarah Ban
Breathnach instills a sense of optimism as she writes about the seasons, “Expect to have
hope rekindled…The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.“
Images from Microsoft Clip Art and Maria Li Winter Forest, G & A Scholiers. Crocus, Bethany Carlson. Icicle Arch 2. Royalty Free Use.
Discovering an Invincible Summer
During the countless dark days and challenging times that follow a significant loss,
grieving people often turn to the ever-present power of nature for healing. Sometimes a
few simple words and natural imagery can serve as reminders of the strong forces around
us. Nature can help to evoke the internal forces that exist deep within and discover the
invincible summer. Philosopher Albert Camus wrote a wonderful description of finding
those inner forces to overcome loss, “In the depths of winter, I finally realized that deep
within me there lay an Invincible Summer.”
Learning to Live Again as the Grief Melts Away
Poet George Herbert wrote, “Grief melts away like snow in May, as if there were no such
old thing. We all know that in time the cold winter melts into spring. Over time, the
grieving person realizes that he will survive the loss and begins to start living again, as the
grief begins to melt away.
Images from Microsoft Clip Art and Maria Li Winter Forest, G & A Scholiers. Crocus, Bethany Carlson. Icicle Arch 2. Royalty Free Use.
Taking the Risk to Bloom
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom.
Anais Nin
The grieving person eventually becomes aware that life goes on and staying shut off from
the rest of the world, from family and friends has become more painful than stepping
back into the world to live again. As the grieving person learns how to integrate the loss,
the winter of their grief gives way to a spring of rebirth and living a new life.
About the Author
Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT, CWS is a
respected physician, an expert in life
challenges, loss, grief and bereavement,
professional health educator, professor,
lecturer and author. She received her
Medical and Master's Degrees from the
University of California, Davis. Dr. Dyer
also has expertise in wellness education
and health promotion. She teaches college
courses in Nutrition and Wellness and a
graduate course in Grief, Loss and
Bereavement.
Dr. Dyer contributed the chapter on “Loss
and the Workplace: What to Do at Work
When the World Crashes in Around You”
to the Healthy Profits: The 5 Elements Of
Strategic Wellness book due out in April.
She can be reached through the Journey
of Hearts website, JourneyofHearts.org.
Images from Microsoft Clip Art and Maria Li Winter Forest, G & A Scholiers. Crocus, Bethany Carlson. Icicle Arch 2. Royalty Free Use.