Grief
- Beth Caldwell
- Jan 14
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 15
Today I heard a song that brought up a sweet memory—and just like that, my happy day turned sad.
Grief.
Whether it comes from the loss of someone close to you, an illness, a breakup, a job loss, a family member struggling, or even the quiet, persistent worry about what’s happening in the world, grief is nearly impossible to organize.
It doesn’t follow rules. It doesn’t stay in its lane. And it doesn’t show up the same way twice. I don’t even know how to explain it most days.
Sometimes, when you’re deep in grief—months in—it doesn’t feel like heartbreak anymore. You’re not crying all the time. You may even appear to be“fine.” But underneath that, there’s still a feeling of emptiness and loss. Like the light inside you has been taken out, and while the world moves on, you’re sitting in the dark, keeping to yourself, and pretending everything is okay.
If you’re sitting with grief, I want you to know this: grief is not linear.
You cannot schedule it.
You cannot organize it.
You cannot outwork it.
I've tried.
The truth is, when navigating the journey of grief, some days are genuinely good.
Some days are heavy and sad.
Some days surprise you with both.
What matters most is remembering that grief is universal. Even if what happened to you hasn’t happened to someone else in the same way, I promise you—the feeling has. Loss, uncertainty, fear, longing, exhaustion… these are shared human experiences.
You are not alone.
And if you are grieving—at any level—please hear this clearly: it is okay to not perform today.
It’s okay to sit. It’s okay to be quiet and keep to yourself.
Today, you can take care of yourself instead of producing something. It’s fine to just remember, to mourn, to take a walk, watch a funny movie, get lost in an old familiar book, or simply rest.
We don’t have to be “on” all the time. We don’t have to prove our strength every single day.
Sometimes, the bravest thing we can do is simply allow ourselves to feel what’s real.
Today, I had to remind myself that there is nothing wrong with feeling sad, even years after experiencing loss. Grief has a way of moving in quietly, staying longer than expected, and asking us to slow down even when the world keeps pushing us forward. You don’t need to rush, and you don't need to be fixed.
Years ago, I had a friend who was living through an unimaginable loss. I wrote this guide for her as a gift. It details the simple tools I used to recover from some of my most difficult personal challenges. This simple guide has become one of my most downloaded resources.
It’s available as a free PDF download here:
Remember, you are not alone. One day soon, you'll catch yourself smiling, and soon after that, you'll catch yourself laughing. And you'll know that this grief storm has passed.
That's when you can support someone who is sitting in her own grief.
That's how this works. --Beth Caldwell
Hi, I’m Beth, the founder of Beth Caldwell’s Circle for Women, a membership community grounded in the belief that women thrive through connection, compassion, and collaboration.
