“In times of peace, we rarely think about death. But war doesn’t give us that luxury.Death becomes constant — not just a distant concept, but a knock on every door, a name added to a growing list, a photograph framed in black ribbon, a grave dug too soon. It’s in the air we breathe. In the silence between sirens. In the eyes of those who have lost someone they loved.Since the full-scale invasion began, almost every Ukrainian I’ve spoken to has experienced some form of loss — a friend, a relative, a neighbour, a classmate. Some speak openly about their grief. Others carry it silently, like a stone lodged deep in their chest. But no one has been untouched.People say time heals. But time only dulls what was never processed.For many, grief remains frozen. They continue to live, but something inside them stays stuck in the moment of loss — as if part of them died too. And in a way, it did.Because when someone we love dies, it’s not just their body that’s gone — it’s the version of ourselves that existed in relationship to them. A daughter no longer has a father. A wife no longer has a husband. A child no longer hears their mother’s voice. That entire energetic exchange — the roles, the emotions, the shared meaning — collapses.And yet, most people never speak about this.We talk about “them” being gone, but we don’t talk about what part of us disappeared along with them.And this is the unspoken layer of grief that keeps so many people from returning to life.But what if we viewed grief not as something to avoid or suppress — but as a sacred portal?What if the unbearable pain of loss is the very force that awakens us to deeper truths — about who we are, what we value, and what truly matters?Because behind every loss lies an invitation:To awaken. To question the nature of reality. To shift from identifying with the body to identifying with the soul.”A fragment from my book “Eternally Fantastic” 🌸Pre-order now - https://besteducationchoice.com/eternally-fantastic/