Cycles of Return and Renewal

Mirabai's devotional practice was cyclical: seasons, rituals, and daily returns to her beloved. Similarly, grief is not a journey with an end point but a cycle that returns—especially on anniversaries, holidays, birthdays, and expected milestones. Children often expect grief to fade linearly, becoming confused when they're devastated on their deceased parent's birthday years later. This concept normalizes cycles: grief is not "coming back" but always present, rising and falling with the seasons and significant moments. Supporting children involves preparing them for predictable grief spikes and helping them create rituals to mark these returns. What will the first holiday without them look like? How will we honor their birthday? These practices give structure and agency to cyclical grief. Children learn to trust that intense grief waves are temporary, that they have practices to weather them, and that grief's return is not failure but the ongoing expression of love that transcends linear time.