September 17, 2025

Whenever I hear the phrase “when goodbye feels too soon,” it didn’t use to make much sense to me until I experienced it myself. Loss came unexpectedly for me in a way that I didn’t see coming, and it left me shattered.  There were no signals or warnings. I didn’t get to prepare for it. All I felt was silence in a room that used to be filled with laughter. I felt the heaviness I didn’t know how to carry. Grief became the shadow that followed me everywhere. It appeared in my quiet moments, in songs that evoked memories and in images of the person I cherished. When Goodbye Feels Too Soon: Learning how to Grieve At first, I assumed I could cope by immersing myself in work to prevent it from consuming me. I felt I could distract myself, avoiding the space to feel. But grief will always demand something of you.  The pain knocked on my heart in unexpected ways, sometimes with uncontrollable tears, sometimes with numbness, and other times with anger. I have realized that to move forward, I must stop resisting my feelings. When saying goodbye feels too soon, there is no right way to grieve; there is only your way. For me, this means I need to create space to grieve. Some days, I manage to carry the weight better than others, and that’s still okay. Carrying Love Forward  Grief isn’t about the endings, but it’s also about healing. It’s a journey of experiencing love in its different forms. The love I thought I lost didn’t disappear; it simply shifted into new forms. I have chosen to honor this love in small ways by keeping photographs close and sharing stories to keep memories alive. There are days I whisper their name into the silence, reminding myself that love didn’t vanish with their absence. Carrying love forward is my way of coping with loss. Knowing that, regardless of how I feel, the love we once shared remains. What This Journey has Taught Me About Healing If there is one thing that I have learned on this journey, it is that even when goodbye feels too soon, healing isn’t about finding closure. It’s about finding ways to keep living.  It’s about learning to live with the ache while allowing love to guide my steps forward. I won’t pretend that I am always okay.  Some days, the ache still feels sharp. But I’ve learned to let grief and love coexist, side by side. To allow myself to feel the love and let it shine brighter than the pain.  Final Reflection: When Goodbye Feels Too Soon If you’re walking through this journey like I am, I want you to know this: you are not alone. The path may feel lonely, but knowing countless hearts have walked this journey too is an assurance that you will be fine. For me, grief will always be a part of my story, but so will love. And even when the goodbye felt unbearably early, the love I carry forward will become my reminder that some connections never truly end.  Goodbyes may come too soon, but love endures.