Row Your Boat Grief Series #1: Row, Row, Row

“Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream,

Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily,

Life is but a dream.”

We all know this song. We were taught it by our parents. We teach it to our kids.

Did you know, however, that all you ever needed to know about life is within this simple little nursery rhyme?

Did you know it’s also all you need to know to navigate through the darkness after the death of a loved one as well?

When death robs us of someone we love, we feel helpless. We feel adrift in our little boat, lost amidst a sea of grief.

Indeed, during those initial hours, even days, maybe what we need to do is to not row our boat. We need time to just float out there all alone, to drift amidst a sea. However, there comes a point when drifting is only taking us further from the port of our life. There comes a time when the only way home is to row our boat.

Sooner, rather than later, we need to take the oars and just start rowing.

Not rowing for rowing sake.

Not rowing just to keep busy.

Not rowing to escape.

The sea is stormy. The ocean is immense. The longer we sit there and do nothing, the further we will drift from returning to life.

Row through writing about your grief.

Row through talking about your grief.

Row through meditating, praying, drawing, dancing, laughing, loving and living.

There are a thousand ways we can row.

It is your boat.They are your oars. It is your sea. And, ultimately, you are the captain and will have to find your own way home. Just find your way home. Start rowing your boat.

Carry The Fire

Rabbi B