Holidays may be an awkward time for grievers. First holidays, especially, can be tough. There is no etiquette for how to handle the first year of special events without a loved one. Do we relish in memories of past holidays? Do we share memories with others? Will memories bring sadness? If I am happy, amContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Season with Joy”
Author Archives: ancarroll
Monday Meditation: The Lonely Holiday
The Christmas season is upon us. It is a bittersweet time for grievers. First Christmases without a loved one are difficult, of course. But it’s the second, third, and rest of the Christmases without your loved one that may be the saddest. The first year, you have a focus: making it through. The next, youContinue reading “Monday Meditation: The Lonely Holiday”
Monday Meditation: The High Road
One of the unexpected challenges of grieving (for me at least) was dealing with grief supporters who, instead of supporting my path, used their time to put down my choices and my grieving process. I tried to take the high road–but I didn’t always succeed. Exhaustion, the need to be understood, and shear shock gotContinue reading “Monday Meditation: The High Road”
Monday Meditation: Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving 2020 is bittersweet. We are isolating. Many of us have lost loved ones. Many may be spending the day alone because of the pandemic. Many Americans are out of work or have lost family businesses because of COVID shutdowns. Many families are struggling to put food on their tables. We are an intensely divided nationContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Thanksgiving”
Monday Mediation: A Test of Integrity
Nothing tests us like distress. The same distress we experience also tests those around us. Distress, struggle, trauma, death–they challenge our character, our honesty, our morality, our honor. Grievers must make difficult decisions and choose from options they don’t always like in order to make the best of the situation at hand. Sometimes those decisionsContinue reading “Monday Mediation: A Test of Integrity”
Monday Meditation: A Deep Breath
In grief, especially in the early days, a chaotic whirlwind swoops in and creates emotional confusion and mental anguish. Though it fades over (a lot of) time, this whirlwind can return without warning, bringing its wake anxiety, stress, negativity, etc.
Monday Meditation: Transform Through Compassion
It’s difficult to extend compassion to, or forgive, someone who has hurt you or people you know. Grieving should be an experience in which there is an abundance of compassion, love, understanding, and acceptance. However, because of our society’s “get over it” attitude and the tendency to believe vulnerability is a weakness, grieving can becomeContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Transform Through Compassion”
Book Review: The Essential Wayne Dyer Collection (Wayne Dyer)
The day of my mother’s surgery, I went to a bookstore. I was seeking a book that could help her reframe how she viewed life. She hadn’t been taking great care of herself for a few years. She had stopped exercising (which she was never very enthusiastic about), she stopped eating as well as sheContinue reading “Book Review: The Essential Wayne Dyer Collection (Wayne Dyer)”
Monday Meditation: Survival Requires Love
When we think about what humans need to survive, we often reduce the list to the basic essentials: food, clothing, shelter, and water. Perhaps we can add an income with which to pay for these basics. What gets omitted is interesting: love and compassion.
Grief 101: Denial
The following series of posts outline the traditional “stages” of grief as presented in Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s On Death and Dying (1969). The stages are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. This post addresses denial.
Monday Meditation: The Virtue of Compassion
Monday Meditation: Reaping the Fruit
Monday Meditation: Sewing Desires
Monday Meditation: The Mellow Season
Grief 101: The Five Stages of Grief…
At some point in our education about death and grief, we may have heard of the five stages of grieving. As a society we have mistakenly developed a view of the bereavement experience as a sort of numbered pathway that has a distinct beginning and end. However, bereavement professionals have pointed out our flawed applicationContinue reading “Grief 101: The Five Stages of Grief…”
A.N.Carroll 