Youth Counselling

I think about her and feel like crying

I lost my ‘aunt’ due to cancer a few months ago. She is not related to me, but my neighbour. She was very close to me and helped to take care of me since childhood. She was like a mother to me. Even after we shifted to another city, I visited her during my vacations. She understood me better than anybody else. Now whenever I’m alone I think about her and feel like crying. I can’t concentrate on my studies.
Shivani (16)

Dear Shivani,

You are missing your aunt a lot. It is quite evident that she meant the world to you, and you are still grieving her loss.

Someone shared a beautiful way of looking at it… just as water changes state, the same way we also change state — from physical to spirit. She just cannot be seen, yet she is with you. She is alive in your heart, your thoughts, and your memories. Honour her memory by creating a little shrine or space with her picture. Keep flowers and light a diya for as long as you wish to. Spend a moment of gratitude and love with her each day and thank her for her presence in your life.

She was like a mother to you, and like all mothers, she would have wanted you to become successful in whatever you do. So, take her blessings and then sit to study. Each day, take one step forward to achieve the dreams she would have wanted you to achieve. You know that she loved you, understood you, and wished you well. So, recall all the advice she may have given you and use that as a guide to move forward. Know that she is present — like a guru, a guardian angel — with you always.

Nasreen Hashambhoy is a Counsellor, Life Coach and a Facilitator of training programmes for schools and corporates. Through a combination of coaching, counselling and facilitation techniques based on cognitive science and positive psychology, she helps clients achieve their true potential. She is the author of the series Values In Action published by Better Yourself Books.

Nasreen Hashambhoy

Nasreen Hashambhoy is a Counsellor, Life Coach and a Facilitator of training programmes for schools and corporates. Through a combination of coaching, counselling and facilitation techniques based on cognitive science and positive psychology, she helps clients achieve their true potential. She is the author of the series Values In Action published by Better Yourself Books.