Elizabeth Taylor’s adoring fans grieve and mourn her passing this week. Ms. Taylor, with her beautiful violet eyes, will be remembered for her dedication to increasing awareness and helping those living with Aids. She was a talented actress, kind-hearted person, and deeply passionate about creating a better life for others.
People may ask why we mourn and feel such deep sorrow for people we have never met. The reason is that although we have never met them, we have a relationship with them. These relationships are naturally one-sided; the celebrity does not know us or anything at all about us. Nonetheless, we welcomed them into our world. We studied them, followed them, and learned everything we could about their private lives.
The world also mourned when President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Elvis Presley and Princess Diana died. And most of us can still tell you exactly what we were doing the moment we heard the news of their deaths. I was at a cocktail party in Maui the night Princess Diana was killed. When I heard the news, I remember feeling like we were all in a movie. A hush fell over the crowd and as my eyes scanned the hotel’s lanai it felt and looked like we were all moving in slow motion. I was saddened for a long time about her death. In part, my sadness was because like everyone else, I truly appreciated her. And in part, it was because she had two small children. My own children were still grieving the loss of their father and I empathized with the difficult journey before Prince William and Prince Harry. My heart broke for them.
It’s natural for people to feel a sense of loss when someone they have come to appreciate dies, even if they don’t know them. When it becomes “unnatural” or “unhealthy” is when a person becomes immobilized from the sorrow and truly can’t move forward in life. This is when an individual’s grief has become distorted and they would benefit from the help of a professional.
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