Sadhana Through Anticipation

Sadhana is disciplined spiritual practice—daily, rigorous, devoted. Mirabai's life was sadhana: singing, dancing, and questioning her way toward union (however impossible). Sadhana transforms activity into path. Most of us experience anticipatory grief as unwanted intrusion, a symptom to manage. Mirabai's lens invites reframing: What if this grief is sadhana? What if the fear, the early mourning, the restless nights are opportunities for practice? This does not mean we should welcome the pain, but we can use it intentionally. Each moment of anticipatory grief can become a moment of practice: practicing presence instead of escape, compassion instead of denial, acceptance instead of control. We establish a daily sadhana: sitting with the fear, journaling our anticipation, meditating on impermanence, speaking our love aloud. Sadhana gives structure and purpose to what might otherwise feel like suffering without meaning. Over time, this practice does something subtle but profound: it trains us in the very capacities we will need when loss arrives. We become familiar with our own resilience, our capacity to hold love and grief simultaneously, our ability to turn despair into devotion. Grief practiced early becomes wisdom.