The Roundup Feb. 2020 | Page 16

A look at how love and grief effect how we love so deeply. LOVE AND GRIEF OF THE HEART by Paula Aragon, Public Affairs February is known as the “love” month, since Valentines Day is smack dab in the middle of the month. It is not just for the romantics at heart, but it is day for remembering love. Love for those we hold near and dear. Love for those whom we have lost along the way, whether through life taking us in separate directions, or those who have passed before us. Love and grief are close cousins. You can’t have one without the other. Together they make us realize the depth of love we have and once it is gone, the grief we will suffer for a love that will be missed. Here at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center, we can see the love family members have for their Veteran. When that Veteran is placed in our hospice care, or perhaps those families who are staying at the Albuquerque Fisher House, they know all too well the love for the one being cared for may have an unexpected outcome, and grief is likely soon to follow. This is proven time and again. Mr. Vincent’s love for his beloved dog Patch, for instance One last wish granted and a love that was unbreakable between man and man’s best friend. A family member who stayed at the Fisher House and who had to relinquish a love for a sister, due to her passing. Grief came to pay a visit.  Although the love we hold close to our heart, whether that be for family, friends or the family pet, that is a bond that is difficult to let go of. This type of love runs deep in one’s veins, and therefore, is why grief is so difficult. We love deeply. Love should never be taken for granted because we never know when it could be taken away.                                                                         “The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief – But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love.”  ~ Hilary Stanton Zunin. During the month of love, take the time to love those living more deeply and remember the love of those who have gone before us. For this is the meaning of true love.  "Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy or boast..."