When it comes to my area of passion, dying and death, ritual is extremely important. And, it must be ritual that is meaningful to the people experiencing the loss. Ritual for the sake of ritual, or ritual by habit or by rote is not what I am encouraging here. The dictionary definition of ritual doesn’t really work for me and this is likely also why we are dearly lacking … [Read more...]
Coloring Between The Lines… You Kidding? Grief Has No Lines to Paint Within!
I remember when I was young and learning to color - I always colored outside the lines against firm encouragement to stay within the confines of them darn outlines. For those of you who know me it is no surprise, my rebellious spirit shone through at a very young age! Well, grief is very much like this simple analogy. It may seem as if there are lines to stay within … [Read more...]
Giving Care Can Be An Avoidance Too!
I have noticed over the years that from time to time care providers hide behind their care giving tasks as a way to avoid dealing with the pre-grief they may be feeling. It can be difficult to spot initially as care giving is such a noble and heartfelt form of service. Yet, over time if left unchecked this practice of avoiding grief by over caring will spell trouble for the … [Read more...]
Through Thick and Thin – Granny’s Death at Home
I have been supporting Darlene for over a year now as she worked diligently to ensure her dear Granny got to die at home. Well, Granny is still in her home and she is in the final stages of her walk towards death. Granny got her wish because of a very simple fact – Darlene made it happen. I was sitting in the living room, strange as Granny is dying there, with Darlene and … [Read more...]
The Three G’s for Healthy Grieving
Grief is sticky, a bit like those double-sided tape rollers used to remove lint from sweaters. Unresolved grief tends to act like a magnet and attract your more recent grief to stick around. This goes on under the radar and below our consciousness. It is not that we want to hang on to our grief - more it is we have forgotten how to fully clear it out of our system. So we … [Read more...]