Grief that is stashed away

I met an old, old man. Within three minutes of meeting, he told me about an object he kept in a box in his attic. This object was the physical manifestation of all his shame and guilt. It had been there for decades. He never looked at it. He did not want to take it out. He wanted to leave it there.

I didn’t know the right thing to do with that object, but I could feel it burning a hole in his heart, and everything in me screamed to get it out and deal with it. It is anchoring him to the past, keeping him stuck in an old version of himself.

I made some gentle inquiries about it, told him what I noticed and felt, and encouraged him to think about a way to remove the object from his house. I suggested various ritual actions or safe hands to place it into. 

And then I left him to take the next step.

I keep thinking about this, wondering what he might do, and wondering what I would suggest if I were planning a ritual for him. 

Identifying details changed

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