Like many people, I am interested in information about COVID-19. I read news and journal articles about the pandemic and the scientific communities prescribed methods of handling it. I follow the debates about masks and the realness of the disease. I watch people flood beaches and vacation as though the virus isn’t spreading. I listenContinueContinue reading “The Trouble with Coronavirus: How COVID-19 is Challenging American Acceptance of Death”
Category Archives: COVID-19
8 Ways to Take Life Slowly While Grieving During a Pandemic
Social distancing slows life down for us and changes what we consider normal. We may feel lazier and more unproductive than usual when we actually aren’t. During isolation, there aren’t many chances for big or impulsive decisions, like job changes or moves. Financial matters may become more urgent, deliberate, and purposeful, especially if you’re unemployedContinueContinue reading “8 Ways to Take Life Slowly While Grieving During a Pandemic”
Monday Meditation: Interconnection
“True self is non-self, the awareness that the self is made only of non-self elements. There’s no separation between self and other, and everything is interconnected.”-Thich Nhat Hanh Loss is a point where we realize that, despite our penchant for independence, we are massively interconnected. Life becomes drastically different when one person is missing fromContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Interconnection”
The Joy of Coloring
In the aftermath of his professional split from Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung began an experiment of writing and reflection on his life and career. Jung wrote of visions and fantasies he had as he opened himself to a confrontation with his unconscious during his personal struggles. Later he added complementary imagery, mostly in the formContinueContinue reading “The Joy of Coloring”
Monday Meditation: May the Fourth
“Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.”-Obi-Wan Kenobi It is May the Fourth, and Star Wars Day offers a helpful meditation on life and our place in it. Every living thing isContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: May the Fourth”
7 Ways to Cultivate Inner Stillness While Grieving in Isolation
Cultivating inner stillness while grieving during a pandemic is difficult. However, finding stillness is necessary when processing grief and adapting to post-loss life. One way to approach the search for stillness is by taking a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday work and home responsibilities. When you are sheltering-in-place during a pandemic, thereContinueContinue reading “7 Ways to Cultivate Inner Stillness While Grieving in Isolation”
Release Guilt
After a loss, you may wonder if you did enough for your loved one, if you were nice enough, if you spent enough time with them. In their book I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye, Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair call this the “ ‘If Only’ game,” a mind game grievers play to controlContinueContinue reading “Release Guilt”
Virtual Connections and Grieving During COVID-19
In my forthcoming book, Untangling Life After Loss: A Griever’s Guide to Creating a Self-Care Plan, I offer suggestions for how to approach grief in your everyday life. COVID-19 has turned many of those suggestions sideways as social distancing measures throw a curve into what could be termed “normal” grieving processes. An experience that onceContinueContinue reading “Virtual Connections and Grieving During COVID-19”
The Grief of Social Distance
It’s only been a few weeks since social distancing measures were first employed in our state. It’s only been a few days since the governor enacted a “stay at home” order. For others, social distancing and shelter in place orders have been in place longer. Now, after the orders have been given and the noveltyContinueContinue reading “The Grief of Social Distance”