Embracing Grief as a Companion
Like so many people in the world today, you may be experiencing an onslaught of grief, helplessness, fear, and even anger. If you have yet to hear this, let me be the first to tell you, these feelings are normal. But what do you do with them? How we process and act on them can be the difference between being part of the solution or contributing to the fire of hate and anger that simmer on our social media daily. These days, thanks to the power of social media and global news outlets, we’re not grieving and feeling for one single event. Instead, we’re experiencing the overload of an accumulation of traumatic events occurring concurrently across the globe - making it even more challenging to process as individuals. Adding to this trauma is the repeated exposure to the event(s) and the emotional recounting and polarization that follows for months on end. We are drawn to watch, believing it’s our obligation. But, what’s really happening is we’re denying ourselves the space and time to process these events and our responses.
Despite our desire to avoid these feelings, grief often accompanies us as events both near and far, good and bad, unfold. Also close by is a sense of helplessness that feeds a desire to fix or somehow control what’s happening. Please know, this is not only normal, but human. Compassion is a strength that allows us to feel deeply for others who are suffering. What would it feel like to take time to process your emotions and clear space so you can be present in your own life in ways that offer healing? How would you feel if you could discover what processing grief means for you?
Personally, I’ve done a lot of work on grief - mostly as it shows up throughout my life—the loss of relationships, change of life, loss of what we wanted to believe, former identities, friends, family, jobs and loved ones. By exploring my own heart, values, and emotions and trying to reconcile these things with the very real chaos of our world, I've learned how to process my grief. It never occurred to me, when I envisioned my life 50 and beyond, that I would be holding hands with grief, as though she’s a companion.
I pictured more the celebration of mile stones and planning for adventure in this next chapter, and yet, here I am like a lot of you, courting grief. At first, I thought of her as more of stalker, someone I didn’t want around, a harbinger of fear and discomfort. Grief is anything but that - she has become my companion ushering me from one phase to the next. Because at this point in my journey I’m experiencing loss, it’s inevitable. Some loss is out of my control and others are choices I’ve made to let go of things that no longer serve me.
These passings are an inevitable part of the journey. What I’ve learned is that grief is more than the emotional experience of loss - it’s the way through loss. Because of this, it’s my firm belief that healing happens in community, in safe places where we can share and process our emotions together, without judgment. So, this is what I’m offering, for at least the next month and perhaps beyond, I’m offering free Compassion Sessions. This is a space for those who need to process how the world is impacting them today, on both the macro and micro levels. We are in a world under constant pressure physically, emotionally, politically, and beyond. This is a judgment-free space where we can come together to positively express these complicated feelings in a supportive environment.
If you’re interested in joining me, click here to book your Compassion Session.