Grief is something we all experience. Love is a sacred partnership of communion with another human being. You take each other in, and even when you are apart, you are together. Wherever you go, you carry the person inside you. This is something to remember if you have a friend who has experienced the death of someone loved. You want to help, but you are not sure how to go about it. There are few things more painful than meeting a person who is pain themselves, and not knowing what to say or do to help relieve their distress. You want to help them, to say the right thing. So how can we be there when your friend or loved one is in pain and needs you, and help them to see the hope that lies beyond their pain, without trivializing the pain or making them feel worse? “Hear them out” –  Just sitting there while the other person in their grief shares how they’re feeling can be profoundly helpful. Listening compassionately, and without interrupting, allows the person you’re with to sort through their own feelings, and this often leads them to discover their own clarity on what to do next to find a path out of their pain. The Real Thing is just listening.