Grief is Like an Onion

October 24, 2022

Inspired moments often come seemingly from nowhere.

This morning, suddenly, as I sat thinking about this week’s message, into my head pops a quote from the now over 20 year old movie Shrek.

Shrek: Ogres are like onions.
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes. No.
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No.
Donkey: Oh, you leave em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin’ little white hairs.
Shrek: No. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
Donkey: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions.

Then it strikes me…

Grief. Grief is like an onion.

Many layers and tears. And much like an onion that has been forgotten, grief too will eventually rot.

I think we can all agree though, that unlike onions, NO ONE likes grief.

However, when mindfully cooked with, there is a flavor and taste to life that, like an onion, only grief can provide. It provides a depth of connection and understanding that feeds our human experience.

Grief is also like an ogre… big, scary, ugly, lonely and often misunderstood.