Is it possible to have a relationship with someone you have never met?

Yes.

What did you do today?  I spent the entire day thinking of the families that will be forever changed after the helicopter crash.

I did not know any of them.  I have never even gone to a Laker game.  But my heart is completely broken for these families.  I tell clients this all of the time.  Once you became a griever; it’s like you are now in the club.  The Grievers Club.  The club that no one wants to be a member of.

Today, I was taking an online marketing course.  I found that my thoughts kept drifting off.  What are they doing now?  Drawing from our experiences I remember making phone calls.  People coming to the house.  Telling the story of how we found out over and over again. Sometimes crying uncontrollably.  Sometimes no tears at all.  These poor families.

I remember feeling this way when Princess Diana died.  She was someone I always thought that I would meet.  The day she died that dream was gone with her.  I remember exactly where I was and how I found out.  I was in Philadelphia and it was 3:00 am and it came over the news on the television.  I sat straight up and started crying.

I felt connected to her.  I felt that we were friends.  We were both mothers. I loved the way she dressed.  I admired her courage.  I felt like I still had so much to tell her.  I never had the chance to personally thank her for the inspiration she gave me.  Her death left me incomplete.

One of our clients asked us if we thought she was crazy for grieving today.  Not one bit.

She told me today it’s like she grew up with him.  He and she were the same age.  She watched him and admired his career as if they were friends.

Feeling intense emotions after a celebrity dies is a common experience but when you are already grieving it can be felt even more deeply.

We do not know why some may feel it more than others.  Some people have no feelings one way or the other when certain celebrity’s die.  That is okay as well.  We know as grief specialist that grief is the emotional pain, we feel in our hearts due to incomplete commutations.  A feeling that we have a connection to their career is normal.  A feel that we have something still to tell them.

My friends, grief is normal.  Grief is a natural part of our human experience here on earth.  We will all grieve.  My heart is breaking not only for the families in the news right now.  But for all of the young men and women that are truly hurting.

Know this.  You are not crazy.  You are normal.  Your grief is real. You are feeling this pain.  Lean into it.  Know that it is ok.  Share your pain with someone who is safe. ~ Sharon