My Experiments with Time

What is the right thing to say to someone who has lost a loved one? This is a very difficult question to answer. A question that emerges everytime I speak to a bereaved family member. In the past I have either chosen words like "Stay Strong", or silence or gestures like hug, holding one's hand tight or patting one's back depending on my intimacy with the concerned person. This time I was on the receiving end, observing and listening to different people who were offering their condolences in varied ways. I am not any wiser on what is the right or wrong way to convey condolences; but I now have a sense of what can sound comforting to someone who lost a loved one. In every culture there is a certain mourning period characterized by rituals and practices meant to express and overcome one's grief and to provide peace. There could be no normal way to grieve, it all depends on each person and on how they cope and overcome grief or choose to live with the grief. In my opi...