Life Drills On...

    In Conclusion with this book, two things Lewis said about life and grief will be stuck in my mind forever. Lewis says,"It doesn't really matter whether you grip the arms of the dentist's chair or let your hands lie in you lap.  The drill drills on." That is such a good example we can relate to.  No one likes to go to the dentist and get their teeth drilled on. That fear of pain and the anticipation causes people to grasp that chair tightly as if it will alleviate the pain or keep the dentist from drilling.  The fear and pain of grief causes people to cling to certain things to make the sadness go away, but the pains of grief can continue as you live day by day. He also says, "I once read the sentence 'I lay awake all night with a toothache, thinking about the toothache and about lying awake.' That's true to life. Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief."  He points out that our minds continually remind ourselves what present situation we are in and torments us day to day that things will not change. If you think of yourself a certain way and believe it, you eventually will be like that unless you change your mindset. For example, if you continually say you're sick and dwell on it, then studies have shown that you will get sick. The mind is a powerful thing and if you're not careful, you can talk yourself into believing anything. 
      In Lewis' book, A Grief Observed, he provides examples to compare his grief to. Because he does this, the book is easy to read and  understand.