Over the past five years of my involvement with dying, death, and grief I have been blessed to also grow and evolve personally. I have had numerous experiences since taking the plunge into the taboo and forbidden world of death that have enriched my life and informed my ability to support others through this important time of end of life. One such … [Read more...]
Holding Space – Nine Simple Tips
Holding space is one of those often-overused terms we take for granted, yet it is a real skill to be able to do so! It is not exclusive to professionals whether they be facilitators, coaches, or care providers. Holding space is a practice we can each learn and then provide for our partners, children, friends, and neighbors. These skills of holding space will be much needed … [Read more...]
The Impact of Care Giving Within the Care System
I was chatting with a student of mine today and listening to her sharing. I understood on a deeper level how spiritually and emotionally impactful giving care can be, especially within a care system. Here are two things she shared that reminded me how important it is to take care of our care providers: 1) A client/patient/resident of hers died several days ago and she was … [Read more...]
Remembering Uncle Bob
By Rick Dignard Sometime in 2008-09, at 81, Uncle Bob got some bad news about prostate cancer and decided to live life as full as possible until the end instead of taking the treatment path. He did a bunch of things, one being to rent a favorite car he always wanted to drive and also to spend time with important people in his life. At one point he told his 3 kids, … [Read more...]
The Heart Doesn’t Break.
I hear and see the use of the term heartbreak often when we are looking at grief and loss. For me it is not an accurate term of what is really happening. It sets up this idea that if somehow our heart is breaking we need to fixed it, to mend it in some way, that something is damaged or wrong - Our heart is not breaking at all! Remember our words are powerful and cast a … [Read more...]