“It is only by reflecting on the past that one can create a better future.”-Rithy Panh This is the last week of the 2020. What a year it has been. Many people suffered losses this year. On average fifty-six million people die a year (according to the World Death Clock). That leaves a lot ofContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: A Time for Reflection”
Tag Archives: Self-Care
Monday Meditation: Season with Joy
“It is a fine seasoning for joy to think of those we love.” -Moliere 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? DoContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Season with Joy”
Monday Meditation: The Lonely Holiday
“Christmas is a holiday the persecutes the lonely, the frayed, and the rejected.”-Jimmy Cannon 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 theContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: The Lonely Holiday”
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 sheContinueContinue reading “Book Review: The Essential Wayne Dyer Collection (Wayne Dyer)”
Monday Meditation: Reaping the Fruit
“No one can reap the fruit before planting the trees.” -Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Grief sucks. We’d like to grow from the grief without having to experience the pains that go along with it. It would be great if grief pain was like a twenty-four hour bug, and just went away as suddenly as itContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Reaping the Fruit”
Book Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Mark Manson)
This is not the book I expected. Nor did I expect to list this on my website as a helpful book for reevaluating your life after a loss. I thought this book was going to be about not caring so much about anything and letting everything go. It is not. (Warning: lots of f*cks (noContinueContinue reading “Book Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Mark Manson)”
Monday Meditation: A Calming Place
“A calming place, where you can go to escape it all and just focus on your body, is so wonderful to have.”-Mary Helen Bowers To focus on yourself, on your self-care, and on your body’s needs, you must have a calming place to which you can retreat. However, ongoing pandemic restrictions make this difficult. ThisContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: A Calming Place”
Monday Meditation: Keep Breathing
“You took it all, but I’m still breathing.”-Sia, “Alive,” This is Acting After I lost my mother, I started driving from home to work (Richmond, VA to Washington, DC) instead of taking the train. I found driving and listening to music very therapeutic. I would put on my Pandora radio and still as loudly andContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Keep Breathing”
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”
8 Ways to Survive Post-Loss Holidays
Eight ways to handle the holiday season after loss.
I’M BACK! But where have I been…?
I’ve been away for a bit…but I’m back!
Monday Mediation: Be good to your body.
Be good to your body this holiday season.
Man’s Search for Meaning (Viktor Frankl)
Viktor Frankl’s memoir about his internment in concentration camps and how we can thrive despite trauma.
Practice Self-Kindness
We seem conditioned to believe that kindness is an outside offering that comes to us rather than a gift we bestow on ourselves. I was struck by how simple kindness was undervalued among some grief supporters. Kindnesses are paid during the funeral period, but after the funeral kindness slowly evaporates, perhaps as part of theContinueContinue reading “Practice Self-Kindness”
Monday Meditation: Go ahead, have a good cry.
Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water. -Christopher Morley Crying is good for you. Tears reduce stress hormones from your body, the remove irritants and lubricate your eye, and tears also contain antibodies. Our emotional tears help stress leave our body and increase endorphinsContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Go ahead, have a good cry.”