“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.” ~Fred Rogers
Mr. Rogers always had wise words, compassionate words for us all. He understood that to be human is difficult sometimes and he also understood that it is the speaking about our difficulties that that can become more “manageable”. It is in the sharing of our stories that the healing happens.
We tend to hide our pain and our suffering. It seems like the right thing to do. Our society has taught us not to show our grief, to keep it hidden. I love that he says that anything is mentionable. Anything can be talked about. This one sentence gives us permission to mourn, to share our hurts and our emotional pain.
I see over and over again that as people connect with other people who are grieving, it alleviates a lot of the struggle.
“I love coming to the group, you just get it. I don’t have to explain.”
We are conditioned to hide our grief. Grief isn’t just crying. We experience grief emotionally, physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually. All aspects of our lives are affected to some degree. When we don’t have a space to talk about these things, we might not name them as grief. So we struggle more.
“Anything that is human is mentionable.” This statement gives us permission to be human, to be messy, to be vulnerable. It tells us that we are not alone and that sharing is okay.
“Anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.” This statement tells us that it is by sharing that we learn to manage it. We can hold our pain gently. We do not have to hide our grief. It is in the sharing that we heal.
Denise Torgerson
Community Programs
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