"Grief is neither a disorder nor a healing process; it is a sign of health itself, a whole and natural gesture of love. Nor must we see grief as a step toward something better. No matter how much it hurts-and it may be the greatest pain in life-grief can be an end in itself, a pure expression of love."
"Zen is not about eliminating thoughts but illuminating them."
Source: Gerald G. May (2009). “Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions”, p.10, Harper Collins
About the author
Gerald May
Psychiatrist, Author
Gerald May was a psychiatrist and author known for his work on addiction, spirituality, and the intersection of mental health and personal freedom.
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More quotes by Gerald May
"To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace."
"Willfulness must give way to willingness and surrender. Mastery must yield to mystery."
"Peace is not something you can force on anything or anyone... much less upon one's own mind. It is like trying to quiet the ocean by pressing upon the waves. Sanity lies in somehow opening to the chaos, allowing anxiety, moving deeply into the tumult, diving into the waves, where underneath, within, peace simply is."
"Honesty before God requires the most fundamental risk of faith we can take: the risk that God is good, that God does love us unconditionally. It is in taking this risk that we rediscover our dignity. To bring the truth of ourselves, just as we are, to God, just as God is, is the most dignified thing we can do in this life."
"I would prefer a thousand mistakes in extravagance of love to any paralysis in wariness of fear."