Letshego Zulu on grief: 'It has taught me so much about myself'

TV personality and author Letshego Zulu has opened up about what grief has taught her since the death of her husband, Gugu Zulu.

This year marked three years since Gugu died while trying to summit Mount Kilimanjaro as part of a Trek4Mandela expedition to raise funds for sanitary pads for school girls.

Speaking to Azania on 702, Letshego opened up about what grief taught her and what she is most grateful for.

Here are five quotes from the interview:

Grateful for life

Letshego said that grief has taught her to be grateful for life.

"Grief has taught me so much about myself. It has taught me to be grateful for life, it has taught me that you should be in tune with everyone around you and the things you involve yourself in."

Healing with time

She said she is a firm believer that life continues and while it is painful when someone dies, the clock keeps ticking.

"We all come into this world individually and we will all depart individually. It is painful when a departure happens, but the truth of the matter is the clock keeps ticking and it's your choice to allow grief to either freeze you or free you."

Channeling things

Letshego said one way to deal with grief is "channelling certain things". 

"It is a mindset in a way because you need to channel it in the direction that you want to go as a person. If it is not channelled, you end up staying in this dark hole."

Being selfish with herself

She said one thing that Gugu used to tell her was that she shouldn't be afraid of being selfish with herself.

"Something like that being said to me meant whatever choice I make or whatever thing I get myself involved in, I shouldn't be afraid if I am the only person doing that."

Family support

Speaking on the support she received from her maternal family and Gugu's family, Letshego said her family was there to pick her up.

"They literally cradled my broken heart. I never fell because they were there as reinforcements to make sure that I don't fall. They played a major role in my journey of rebuilding after that broken heart."