Have you seen the latest commercial of SMART Telecom on text messaging ? During the first two scenes, I snickered to my husband “what a mama’s boy!” See, the guy in the commercial sends text messages to his mom’s cellphone and talks about the praises from his boss, the breakup with his girlfriend, the argument with his sister. Towards the end of that commercial, the guy sends another text message “Mom, I promised to take care of my sister even if you’re not around” . His eyes well up in tears and the photograph of his mom is shown in the background.
That was a smart commercial for two reasons: ( No pun intended)
1. It showed a creative way to unleash grief and
2. It removed the taboo on grief that guys shouldn’t cry over a loss long after the mourning period.
The scene in that commercial seems dramatic but it actually happens to some persons who have lost a loved one. We all grieve differently . What works for one won’t work for the other. Text messaging a loved one is nothing new. I know of two bereaved parents who send text messages addressed to their departed child. My friend still keeps the cellphone of her 13 year old son and when she is feeling down, she sends him a text message. Like writing, text messaging is a creative way to express grief. A great deal of pent-up emotions are often released by writing a letter or a text message saying what we wish we had or hadn’t done, or said, before they died or just simply small talk about the daily grind. Creativity encourages us to find ways to express our deepest feelings and helps us to focus on what may be very confused emotions, so that we understand them better. In grief we often feel as if we have lost control over our lives, and the satisfaction gained from the creative process gives us back a sense of achievement and self-worth.
My bereaved friends felt a bond with the theme of this commercial. Oh yes, the tears fall naturally as the commercial ends.
Thumbs up to SMART for showing this creative expression of grief.
