Podcast

Through tragedy and difficult times in your life, how often have you heard the suggestion to keep busy? As we navigate our grief journey, I'm sure there have been several times you've heard yourself answering a friend's inquiry about how you are doing with, "I'm keeping busy." Here's the question I'd like you to consider today. Have you thought about your answer about "keeping busy"? Are you "keeping busy?" And does it help? Lets discuss this a little more.

We all understand that losing someone special brings plenty of grief. How we navigate our grief is the key to a successful journey through grief. Our goal through grief should be to survive our loss for our loved ones and ourselves and find a way to move forward. To do so, we need to understand grief better and discover the tools available to do so. Today, we will explore how a healthy conversation with grief can help us accomplish this more confidently and with a positive understanding of the process.

In today’s episode I’d like to examine what it means to “Make Room for Hope” in your life after loss and during your grief journey. It’s an important aspect of grief which one day will we will all come to face. In my opinion, to live without hope is not to live at all. The ultimate question is how can you best begin to consider making room for hope without ignoring your current feelings of loss and your need to grieve? 

I've recently realized, with the help and insight of a new friend, that often, in grief, we focus on the loss and how we came to deal with it and not as much on the tangible suggestions and successes we may have experienced as we attempt to take a step forward from our loss. The common question put forth by someone who's experienced loss is simple; "How do you move forward?" This question never seems to be quickly answered for a good reason… it's nearly an impossible question to answer. However, I believe suggestions can be shared to help guide those contemplating this question. In this episode, I will share things I've heard or tried myself and, at the very least, provide a few suggestions for you to seriously consider when you ask, "How do I take a step forward from my loss?"

Inspiration comes from many places that I've discovered if I'm not listening, I may miss it. Thankfully, last week, I was listening. In this episode, I will share with you a few truthful messages shared with me by some incredible, insightful people. Their words are reminders for us to stop, listen, consider, and reexamine the depth of grief our family or friends may be experiencing daily. Join me in understanding the depth of grief and what we can do to help others walk through it. 

As we know, there is no end to grief. But why? What is it about grief that seems to allow it to live on years past the initial loss? Is it the shock and despair of it all? Or is it the hopeless feeling of the loss itself? Come along with me as I discuss a new perspective on grief and the never-ending hold it can have on those left behind. We will also examine important reasons we should consider trying to move forward in our grief while honoring our loved one lost.

Reflecting on life generally is recognizing where we came from, a point in our past. To grow from our experiences, and to strive for better as we move forward, is a noble but essential goal. Through the love instilled within us as we develop and grow, we hope always to find gratefulness not far from our hearts, no matter what we are going through. As we walk our path with grief and discover what tomorrow has to offer, we may find it challenging to carry on. The best way to approach this is not to forget each day ahead is accomplished one step at a time. Join me as we examine the importance of reflecting on life and looking ahead to possibilities.

I've been thinking about how grief shows up in my life and others I know who are dealing with grief. I've been more aware of how I allow my grief to be present in my daily life and with others. It seems to be a question focused on how we, as a society, genuinely see grief in others and what we do with what we see. Do we reach out with a helping hand or an ear to bend, or do we wonder why they haven't "gotten over it" yet? Let's examine together how we see grief and how we can better support someone on their journey with grief. 

Being defined by our grief is a risk we face when we allow ourselves to feel deeply and love unconditionally. However, allowing our grief to overwhelm us, externally as well as internally, is not healthy. While we walk through our grief journey, it becomes important to understand how to avoid allowing our grief to define us. We have a choice to let either our grief encompass us, or we can choose to walk with grief more positively. The decision is ours. Here are five helpful ways to avoid being defined by our grief as we move forward.

In today's episode, I will begin by reflecting on how I approach a new calendar year. Instead of resolutions typically engaged in the new year, I choose a word for the year designed to help me focus on the year ahead and provide a clear path of intention.

With Spring right around the corner and our lives firmly in the third month of the year, reflecting on how we've approached the new year so far - especially as we deal with grief - is a good way to allow ourselves to readjust if we find the need.

More importantly, to reflect on how our approach to this new year is going and to allow ourselves to measure any change we have engaged, goals we may have already achieved, and new projects we may want to reveal to others and ourselves as we attempt to shift perspective for 2023. You will find this episode will do just that. It will reveal a new project I am introducing through the Journey to Grateful podcast, to better help those searching for support that fits their needs.