Shedding Tears, Shedding Stories: Spiritual Grief as Preparation for Growth
- Cadija Barnett
- Aug 18
- 3 min read
When Tears Come Without a Reason
For over a month, I cried every single day. The tears came suddenly, with no clear cause, no obvious event to explain them. They rose like waves, uninvited yet insistent, cleansing me in ways I didn’t fully understand.
The final day I wept was August 13th — a day that already carried meaning as my sister’s birthday. It was only afterward, in the quiet of stillness, that I recognized what had been happening: I was moving through spiritual grief.
The Hidden Gift of Spiritual Grief
Spiritual grief is different from the grief of loss that we’re used to naming. It isn’t always about a death, a breakup, or a dramatic ending. Instead, it is the soul’s way of preparing us for transformation.
My tears weren’t random. They were my Spirit helping me to shed what no longer served me:
Outdated personal stories
Relationships I’ve outgrown
Environments that no longer nurture me
Old versions of myself
This kind of grief is sacred. It clears space. It whispers: “Something new is coming.”
Shapeshifter Spirit
A dear spiritual brother once called me a shapeshifter. A beloved sister once gave me a birthday card with a chameleon on the front and told me it reminded her of me.
This isn’t because I don’t know who I am. It’s not because I lack identity or wander without direction. It’s because I am always shedding, always peeling back another layer, always allowing myself to transform.
Like the chameleon, I move through cycles of change with grace. Each shift brings me deeper into the truth of who I am. Each shedding uncovers another piece of my soul’s purpose — why I am here, what I came to do, and who I came to be.
To shapeshift is to embrace transformation as sacred. It is to honor that we are not meant to stay the same.
So, when I am called a shapeshifter, I receive it as truth. Not as someone who hides, but as someone who dares to keep revealing. Someone who keeps stepping closer and closer to her essence.
Endings Are Not Failures, They’re Evolution
Endings are not punishments. They are invitations to grow.
When we step into new timelines, the old ones must close. Shedding is not betrayal. It is an act of love — love for the self we are becoming, and love for the truth that all of us are here to evolve.
The stories we once clung to, the identities we once wore, eventually fall away. They have carried us as far as they could. Now, we must release them.
Sadness as a Spiritual Guide
In the middle of those heavy days, I forgot something important: monumental sadness is not here to break me. It is here to guide me.
Each tear I shed was watering the soil for the seeds of my future. What felt like sorrow was actually initiation — a passage into my next chapter, my next life.
And through it all, I was not alone. My Higher Self was walking with me. I was supported by unseen hands, known and unknown, that carried me tenderly forward.
Gratitude for the Journey
Now, with clearer eyes, I hold gratitude.
Gratitude for the past, which shaped me.
Gratitude for the present, which continues to reveal me.
Gratitude for the future, which shines bright with promise.
The shedding of tears was not an ending. It was a cleansing. A ritual of release that prepared me for alignment with who I am becoming.
I Am the Change
I represent the change that will always come — the change we are all called to accept.
To live fully is to let go. To evolve is to be free. To awaken is to Unleash Your Spiritual Power.
This is the sacred invitation of spiritual grief, of shedding, of shapeshifting: not to resist change, but to embody it. To stand as a living reminder that transformation is not only possible, it is inevitable — and it is beautiful.
An Invitation to Step Into Your Next Chapter
This Fall Equinox, I am opening the doors to the next cohort of Unleashing Your Spiritual Power — a 5-week journey into self-discovery, release, and alignment with your Higher Self.
Together, we will:
Shed old narratives and patterns that no longer serve you
Awaken to the truth of your soul’s purpose
Root into practices of prayer, mindfulness, and somatic healing
Step into your new timeline with clarity and courage
If you feel the stirrings of spiritual grief, if you’ve been shedding and releasing, know that you are not alone. This is your initiation. This is your bridge. This is your moment to walk fully into who you are becoming.
Join me this season. Let’s step into transformation together.
In Love and Light,
Cadija B.
Elemental Black Woman
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