Checking In One Year Later
Grief doesn’t necessarily stop or end… it moves to a gentler place..our life expands around it.
Acceptance it’s called.
But what if we haven’t returned to Normal. What if we’ve left normal behind, what if 2021 is an entirely new world, a new spring, a new way of being.
What if there is so much loss, we don’t even know what we’re grieving? What if there are so many layers that we barely articulate our loss? Identity, dreams, holding their hand.
Is there a way to remember, to articulate and acknowledge our feelings of loss and grief? What could it look like for you?
Our radio station has been asking people to call in with their stories of resilience. What did it feel like last year, what does it feel like now?
When we were all cheering the ending of 2020, “let’s kick 2020 to the ground” a wise friend said to me, “I’m not going to cheer, I have a feeling that 2021 is going to be even tougher.” They were right.
We need to recalibrate. Our world has changed. Many of us have lost friends and family. We’ve lost jobs, homes, and beloved communities. This is hard. Our ways of surviving, of thriving have changed.
Yet spring is here, hope emerges, our tender, vulnerable new selves are growing.
About the author: Lisa Hartley is a GatheringUs Planner and Facilitator. She lives in Vancouver, Canada with her dog Honey and enjoys hiking in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Through GatheringUs, and her work as a Life-Cycle Celebrant, Lisa helps friends and family gather after the loss of a loved one to support each other and celebrate life together.
Our mission at GatheringUs is bring together family and friends to support each other and celebrate the life of their loved ones.
To learn more about our virtual funerals and memorial ceremonies, schedule a free 30-minute consultation with our team. We can help with planning, facilitation, tech support, audiovisuals and design, and work with you to create a meaningful and personal event. We free you up, so you can be fully present with your community.
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