Marijo shared this book with us. This is how it starts...

"The world is full of faces. Some familiar, some unfamiliar. Many are constant companions. They belong to those closest to us - a friend, a parent, a grandparent, a spouse, or a child. But one day a face is missing.......It's presence is no longer there. There's an empty spot, but not for long. A new face emerges to take it's place. It's unfamiliar and unfriendly.  It's the face of grief.
 It's not a comfortable place. It's not where you want to reside, but for a time longer than you wish, you will.  Often it will hurt, confuse, upset and frighten you.

The more we stand and fight, the more exhausted we become. The more you accept it, hold out your arms to it, embrace it, the more you will recover..."

Looking forward to share this amazing little book with you all when we get it..
https://www.amazon.com/Experiencing-Grief-H-Norman-Wright/dp/080543092X

(This is what the FSG is about)
"As you reach forward with one hand, Accept the advice of those who have gone before you,
And in the same manner reach back with the other hand to those who follow you;
For life is a fragile chain of experiences held together by love.
Take pride in being a strong link in that chain. Discipline yourself, but do not be harsh. 
The pleasures of life are yours to be taken. Share them with others, but always remember that you, too, have earned the right to partake.
Know those who love you; love is the finest of all gifts and is received only to be given. Embrace those who truly love you; for they are few in a lifetime…
Then return that love tenfold, radiating it from your heart to fill their lives as sunlight warms the darkest corners of the earth. Love is a journey, not a destination; Travel its path daily. Do this and your troubles will be a fleeting as footprints in the sand. When loneliness is your companion and all about you seem to be gone, pause and listen, for the sound of loneliness is silence, and in silence we hear best. Listen well, and your moments of silence will always be broken by the gentle words of encouragement spoken by those of us who love you."
~Tim Murtaugh

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.
Mother Teresa - Catholic Nun, Missionary, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient

"There are only two ways to live your life. 
One is as though nothing is a miracle. 
The other is as if everything is."  
Albert Einstein

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.
It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing;
it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it.
Margaret Thatcher

As we light these four candles in honor of you.
We light one for our grief,
One for our courage,
One for our memories,
And one for our love. 
This candle represents our grief.
The pain of losing you is intense.
It reminds us of the death of our love for you.

This candle represents our courage-to confront our sorrow
- to comfort each other
- to change our lives.
This light is in your memory
- the times we laughed
- the times we cried
- the times we were angry at each other
- the silly things you did
- the caring and joy you gave us period.
This light is the light of love.
Day by day, we cherish the special place in our heart that will always be reserved for you.
We thank you for the gift that your living brought to each of us.
We love you now and forever.

Love is patient; Love is kind, Love does not insist on its own way.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
Hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
I Corinthians 13:4-8

I thought because of the invitation by David Kessler, I would share some of his words:

The 10 Best and 10 Worst Things ​to Say to Someone in Grief
Sheryl Sandberg's post on Facebook gave us much insight into how those in grief feel about the responses of others to loss. Many of us have said “The Best” and “The Worst.” We meant no harm, in fact the opposite. We were trying to comfort. A grieving person may say one of the worst ones about themselves and it’s OK. It may make sense for a member of the clergy to say, “He is in a better place” when someone comes to them for guidance. Where as an acquaintance saying it may not feel good.
You would also not want to say to someone, you are in the stages of grief. In our work, On Grief and Grieving, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and I share that the stages were never meant to tuck messy emotions into neat packages. While some of these things to say have been helpful to some people, the way in which they are often said has the exact opposite effect than what was originally intended.

 
The Best Things to Say to Someone in Grief
1. I am so sorry for your loss.
2. I wish I had the right words, just know I care.
3. I don’t know how you feel, but I am here to help in anyway I can.
4. You and your loved one will be in my thoughts and prayers.
5. My favorite memory of your loved one is…
6. I am always just a phone call away
7. Give a hug instead of saying something
8. We all need help at times like this, I am here for you
9. I am usually up early or late, if you need anything
10. Saying nothing, just be with the person

The Worst Things to Say to Someone in Grief
1. At least she lived a long life, many people die young
2. He is in a better place
3. She brought this on herself
4. There is a reason for everything
5. Aren’t you over him yet, he has been dead for awhile now
6. You can have another child still
7. She was such a good person God wanted her to be with him
8. I know how you feel
9. She did what she came here to do and it was her time to go
10. Be strong

 
Best & Worst Traits of people just trying to help
When in the position of wanting to help a friend or loved one in grief, often times our first desire is to try to “fix” the situation, when in all actuality our good intentions can lead to nothing but more grief. Knowing the right thing to say is only half of the responsibility of being a supportive emotional caregiver. We have comprised two lists which examine both the GOOD and the NOT SO GOOD traits of people just trying to help.

The Best Traits

• Supportive, but not trying to fix it
• About feelings
• Non active, not telling anyone what to do
• Admitting can’t make it better
• Not asking for something or someone to change feelings
• Recognize loss
• Not time limited

The Worst Traits

• They want to fix the loss
• They are about our discomfort
• They are directive in nature
• They rationalize or try to explain loss
• They may be judgmental
  
• May minimize the loss
• Put a timeline on loss
  

Learn more at:  www.grief.com

This has been bouncing around Facebook, I thought it was appropriate as a reminder how hard grief is, why we need each other, and a reminder that we survived, so will you...
​
 “Alright. Here goes. I’m old. That means I’ve survived (so far) and a lot of people I’ve known and loved did not. I’ve lost friends, best friends, acquaintances, grandparents, co-workers, mom, relatives, teachers, mentors, students, neighbors and a host of other folks. I have no children and I cannot imagine the pain it must be to lose a child. But here’s my two cents.

“I wish I could get used to people dying. I never did. I don’t want to. It tears a hole through me whenever somebody I loves dies, no matter the circumstances. But I don’t want it to “not matter”. I don’t want it to be something that just passes. My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship I had for and with that person. And if the scar is deep, so was the love. So be it. Scars are a testament to life. Scars are a testament that I can love deeply and live deeply and be cut, or even gouged, and that I can heal and continue to live and continue to love. And the scar tissue is stronger than the original tissue ever was. Scars are a testament to life. Scars are only ugly to those who can’t see.

“As for grief, you’ll find it comes in waves. When your ship of life is first wrecked, you’re drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the voyage that was, and is no more. And all you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it’s some physical thing. Maybe it’s a happy memory or a photograph. Maybe it’s a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Stay alive.

“In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don’t even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months, you’ll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what’s going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything … and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves, there is life.

“Somewhere down the line, and it’s different for everybody, you’ll find that the waves are only 80 feet tall. Or 50 feet tall. And while they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming. An anniversary, a birthday, or Christmas, or landing at O’Hare. You can see it coming for the most part and prepare yourself. And when it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, sputtering, still hanging on to some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you’ll come out.

“Take it from an old guy. The waves never stop coming, and somehow you don’t really want them to. But you learn that you’ll survive them. And other waves will come. And you’ll survive them too. If you’re lucky, you’ll have lots of scars from lots of loves. And lots of shipwrecks.
~~Anonymous, via reddit & E.Alper, edited Oct2015~~