Today marks 10 years since my mother passed away. Here is a message I wrote about healing from extreme heartache and grief…

Healing From Extreme Heartache & Grief

10 years ago, on this very day, I lost my mother to an excruciating battle with cancer. She was my best friend, and losing her was the worst and hardest experience of my life. Since then, I’ve been on a journey of healing. Here’s what I’ve learned along the way…

I was devastated and in total shock for a really long time, searching for answers, trying to understand why it all happened—choosing an unhealthy lifestyle, partying every weekend, trying to avoid ‘feeling’ my actual feelings.

But then, things changed. I changed…

I went from leading with pain & grief to leading with love, giving myself grace when I fell short. 

The thing about healing is it’s a journey, not a destination. I used to think healing was temporary. I thought that if I put in enough work to feel less sad about my mother’s battle with cancer, my grief would just magically go away. But that’s not what happens at all when you’re on a healing journey. 

The journey is really hard in the beginning. You feel like you’re experiencing death and life at the exact same time. Your heart feels shattered. You feel like you’re walking around with weights on your chest. The anxiety is unbearable. It feels like you take two steps forward, one step back. 

There’s beauty on the horizon though…

Every layer of emotional struggle you overcome brings you to a new height of awareness, a new wave of deep consciousness, and a new perspective. 

Every intentional choice you make to better yourself brings you closer to feeling inner peace, closer to feeling like your true self—the person you were before your whole world got flipped upside down, before you felt immense heartbreak. Except when you reach this new level of healing, you’re not the same; you’re different, you’ve evolved. You see the world in a new light, and you slowly learn to accept what is and celebrate all that was.

Here’s the thing about grief…

You can let grief destroy you, or you can turn it into purpose. You can change the narrative. For so many years, my story was, ‘I was suffering, I was depressed, I lost my mother to cancer.’ Then one day, I woke up and said, ‘I’m sad, but I can still feel joy.’ ‘I can be healing and happy at the same time.’ ‘My grief doesn’t define me.’ 

You can let the heartache you’re experiencing in this exact moment be the catalyst for greater awareness, deep healing, and personal growth. It can be what sets your soul on fire. 

Your past doesn’t define you. Your present moment does. Your choices pave the way. Stay on the path of healing and don’t lose sight of the vision you have for yourself. It gets so much better. Some of the greatest moments of your entire life haven’t happened yet. 

xo, Chelsea

~ If this resonates with you, please let me know in the comments below, and share it with a friend who might need this message today.

~ Ready to start your healing journey? Ask yourself these six essential questions and begin manifesting the healthy life you deserve. It’s time to turn your pain into purpose. And for further guidance and inspiration, I recommend checking out this book “You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.”