Grief as Devotional Practice

For Mirabai, devotion was not sentiment; it was rigorous spiritual practice—a daily discipline of attention, vulnerability, and presence. Similarly, grief can be approached not as an affliction to overcome but as a devotional practice. This means attending to it with rigor: writing, walking, sitting with it, learning what it teaches. Anticipatory grief, when held as practice, becomes a teacher. It clarifies what we love. It strips away pretense. It connects us to all beings who have lost and will lose. It humbles us. It can awaken compassion for others who are also grieving—future generations, displaced peoples, species, ecosystems. By treating grief as devotional practice rather than pathology, we honor its wisdom. Mirabai's examined heart was not trying to escape suffering but to be fully present to it, to let it teach her about love. In a time of civilizational loss, this practice becomes a gateway to maturity, wisdom, and a clearer sense of what still calls us to show up.