LOVE AND GRIEF’s Contract

 When we agree to love, we agree to grief. The most challenging aspect of love is accepting the impermanence of our attachments to whom or what we love. When the warranty expires, grief follows. These are the contract terms of Love and Grief.

We agree to exchange this precious, joyful moment in time for sorrow.  We agree to Love's offer of a journey that is sweeter, lighter, and more fulfilling. We sign up for at least fifteen years of loving attachment with our dog or eighteen years with our cat. We sign up for an eternity of partnership. We sign up for hopes and dreams we have for our children to be fulfilled. If we are so fortunate, we enter extended love warranty contracts with our grandchildren. We sign up for expectations of not dying alone, to be cared for and to care for others, for enduring friendships and for our loved ones to walk us down the aisle and bury us in our old age.

Sometimes, the terms of the contract are fulfilled and sometimes not. Love breaks its promises and can mercilessly rob us of what we agreed upon. Love cheats us, betrays and disappoints us. Love unfairly gave us more pain and grief than we thought we agreed too. Love defaults and grief repossesses.  Would we have signed up if we had read the *small print?

 Disclaimer: * Love does not guarantee rescue from suffering, but it does offer a respite. Love is evergreen, your attachments are not. No refunds, replacements or returns for your loss or grief. The amount of grief you experience is equal to the amount of love you experienced. Sadness and heartache is to be expected, suffering is optional. Love offers no promise of wish fulfillment or expectations of others to be met. In some cases, you may experience heartache for the rest of your life. Expect disappointment, enjoy the moment. Savor love as much as you dare. Buyer Beware.