My Newest Labor of LOVE!

Long time no write – again!

All apologies. But, y’all: I have been learning SO flippin’ much and have just made the decision to follow my gifts and start doing what I do best – – – helping hurting people.

After serving for 3-years at a local hospice and developing a grief and bereavement program from scratch to support our local community (not only for our patients and their families but rather a program that supports our collective community as a whole), I’ve decided to take this show on the road.

Buckle up! It’s a road trip!

Kinda. Not really. But bear with me here.

The need for grief education, literacy, advocacy, support and resources is overwhelming. This need was already dire prior to our 3-year global health crisis. The “still-to-be-fully-determined” effects of our individual and collective mental health from living in a strange kind of survival mode, are only going to add to that burden. A fractured and over extended healthcare system, staffed by mentally and emotionally broken humans, who have seen too much and done too much and are now walking advertisements for PTSD, are not really good recipes for success or healthful healing. We now know that trauma, even if only perceived, alters our brains. Living in a constant state of fight/flight/freeze, floods our brains with chemicals that make us stay on high alert for danger. Our hormone and chemical flooded brain sends messages to our body that tell us: “Yep – we are not safe. We are afraid. Something bad is definately going to happen. Panic.” Then our body talks to our organs and our breathing becomes fast and shallow and our heart rate and blood pressure go up and that shallow breathing just serves to make more chemicals flood our brain and it’s a vicious cycle that continues.

It’s past time that we take the leap and learn to help one another feel heard, understood and valued while also being mindful that healing from any grief or trauma is messy, unique and always evolving and on-going.

Grief has no finish line. But neither does love. And in order to be a truly trauma informed and healthful community able to support those who are hurting, we need places and spaces and people who are willing to be that light and shine in the dark times so that others can know that they can make it to their tomorrows.

Grief is a normal response to loss and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Grief is messy and miserable and horrible. It is also universal. By educating and healing our selves we can then hope for a more balanced, empathetic and supportive response to ourselves, each other and our community.

Without further ado, I am so EXCITED to share with you all my newest labor of love!

The Center for Grief & Creative Healing began as an idea and soon became a community. The next steps for our non-profit start up are to offer more self-care and mindfulness workshops, grief groups, grief education, resources & counseling sessions for our local communities. Our programs and services will be at no cost to those we serve.

Our goal is to be fully funded by kindness, donations, generosity of volunteer time and grant availability to foster community and collective healing following these trying times.

Classes, groups and workshop schedules will be posted on our Facebook pages. If you or someone you know needs 1:1 grief support, please message us with your contact information.

Much love!

D

This Week’s Focus

This week my focus word is “acceptance”. I’m working on accepting myself, my circumstances, and my relationships. This hasn’t been an easy task for me on the best of days so taking the time to deep dive into this intention is proving to be a challenge – but I’m ready.

Part of acceptance is acknowledging that I’ve not been practicing all that I teach. I share with my grief group participants that we should never say something to ourselves that we wouldn’t also say out loud to those we love most in this world – so part of accepting ME is also being kinder and gentler TO me in my thoughts ABOUT me.

Give some attention to your thoughts and what acceptance looks like in your life this week.

Sending love & light. xo

Mid Pandemic Musings

Long time no write! I’ve been distracted; which is my typical, muddled and cluttered brain’s habit.

It occurred to me as we are mid pandemic and people are isolated and away from their families that this holiday season marked my 3rd being estranged from my biological family members.

My first was in 2018 so 2020 makes 3.

I never imagined that the things that fractured my family relationships would carry on this long; but at this point, I can’t imagine what could mend or heal all of the many hurts. As much as I’m not the same person that I was three years ago, I have to believe that neither are those who were formerly integral parts of my everyday life.

So much has changed and I don’t even know how simple conversation could be had. That water under the bridge is icy and full of rocks and choppy.

In my journey through healing I’ve learned that there is so much that I needed to let go of. So much weight that I’ve carried that was full of guilt and self-loathing and in these last three years, I’ve learned that the letting go is a daily practice. The grounding and breathing and simply being who I am and accepting me for me is a constant internal dialogue but each day it gets a little bit easier.

Five minutes of mindfulness and meditation can save your life. I know this is true because that’s exactly how I started to heal.

Five minutes at a time.

Keep shining, friends. ❤️

Lessons for Being the Black Sheep

There are so many lessons one learns from being the proverbial “black sheep” of their family. I decided a list might be helpful to those of you new to this role.

1. Be prepared to have your phone calls and texts ignored regularly. It’s easier for everyone else to believe that you don’t exist; so when you make your presence known, it will very likely go unacknowledged. Don’t worry, though. You will get used to this in time.
2. You’re not going to be invited to family things. Neither will your children. It’s easier for others to pretend that they don’t exist either. This pill is hard to swallow as a parent; it’s much easier to accept the ugly that comes your way compared to that same ugly being put upon your kids. Best advice: love them through it. Make sure they understand that love and family are unconditional and that you are there for them.
3. It’s easier to love your kids always and have some grace and humility than it is to fix broken adults.
4. Black goes with everything. Especially sparkly tiaras and glitter. Remember that when you feel badly that you don’t fit in or feel unloved because of your black sheep status.
5. No matter what anyone wants you to believe, you are not hard to love. Love simply is. And it’s hella easy.

Look at this face! ❤️

Lessons from a Pandemic

This pandemic hasn’t created new problems for me, personally, however, it has magnified the cracks and insecurities in my life that were much easier to ignore before I was socially locked down with no distractions from all of the wreckage that has been my journey for the last 7 years.

Talk about a hard pill to swallow.

That mess that I was effectively sweeping under the rug in every possible way, became too much anymore when I was home alone with my thoughts and my feelings and anxieties and with nowhere to run and zero distractions from what was staring me in the face.

So you know what?

I faced it head-on.

I stopped looking the other way and took a long hard look at ME and my choices. Who do I want to be in charge of the REST of my story?

I didn’t want to forfeit my ideas and thoughts and experiences to another human being no matter how much I love them anymore.

I don’t want to be a watered down version of my true self.

I want to love the things and people I love and not feel ashamed of the human being that I am. I want to honor my heart and my beliefs and I want to take my power back. I want to truly live my story out loud, with the volume way up and all the glitter I want.

So here goes.

I’m grateful that I got here but I’m sorry it took a plague to make me see where I was wrong.

Onward, friends.

xo

Oh, the Clutter…

I’m a naturally scattered human by nature. As I’m learning and growing and embracing all that is me, I’m trying to be more mindful of my processes and quirks and flaws.

That said, as I’m reflecting on wrapping up 2019 with a big and pretty bow, I’ve really been ALL OVER THE PLACE this year and I want (and need) to tidy things up.

I’m forever amazed that I still don’t know what I want to “be” when I grow up. When am I gonna figure this life-stuff out? I feel like 42 years and 5 months of age should be sufficient in helping me determine a direction and a path but, here we are.

I feel stuck and uninspired and I just want to spread peace, love, joy and glitter.

(Can I get a real job hugging all the broken people and telling them everything will be ok?)

These next few weeks, I’m hoping to pare down and de-clutter and be more mindful and meaningful about what’s important to ME in this world that I share with the people I love. I feel like 2020 needs to bring about a more focused and intentional ME.

Wish me luck!

All the love. Always.

D

Unconditional People

I hope you have some.

I can literally name 3 true hearts and humans that I still have in my life and world and I’m grateful for them.

I used to believe that I had more.

But when the shit goes down in the big and ugliest of ways, you find out fast and in a hurry who will be left in the end, and for me, I have 3.

One of the hard lessons was realizing that those people who I believed were my “ride or die” tribe members were more than ready to bail and exit stage left when things became unpredictable and less than socially acceptable.

I quickly learned new ways the heart can break.

But more importantly, I’ve learned and grown and changed in so many ways and become a better support for myself and my own heart.

I’ve learned to love me. Flaws and all.

I don’t struggle to be “seen” or approved of.

I just am.

I’m comfortable in my own skin and don’t feel like I have anything to prove to anyone other than the person who I’m living the rest of my life with — the person I see in the mirror for my forever. She is me.

I’ve have also found that there can be pockets of normal even in the middle of awful. Pockets of amazing in between the chaos. Pockets of hope in between the loneliness.

And, to my 3 true ride or die humans: you know who you are and I love you.

And that’s enough.

Always.

xoxo

A Year Ago Today

Things went from bad to worse in the blink of an eye.

Not many people know my entire story and I share it sparingly because I’ve been judged harshly. Not many people supported the choices I made. I’ve lost friends and loved ones along the way and I’ve made choices that I’ve been utterly ashamed of.

But ultimately, my truth today, in this moment, is that I’m proud of who I am.

The road I walked to get to where I am between July 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019 has been anything but pretty. I wouldn’t wish the things I’ve seen and lived through on anyone.

Not ever.

But guess what?

I’m. Still. Standing.

I’m still standing, y’all.

I’m smiling again.

I have a peace deep down that I’ve never known before.

I miss the people I’ve lost.

Every day I want to pick up the phone but I know that there’s nothing good to come of that. I’m simply not who I was then and I don’t want to be that person ever again.

I don’t want to WANT and crave approval and acceptance because I’ve learned the hard lessons of what unconditional love actually is.

I’m grateful for those who helped me get through my journey to the place I am now and I’m sorry that some of those people aren’t with me as I continue on my path forward.

The reasons, I know, are many and scattered and there are a multitude of why and what if’s.

So be it.

I can only pray for their peace, too.

I wish them well.

I hope that one day I will have the courage to share my WHOLE story. Unashamed and raw.

Maybe that will be my goal for July 1, 2020.

Until then, friends, keep shining.

Keep moving forward.

Don’t look back.

All the love.

All the days.

xoxo

It’s Still Heavy

I learned this yesterday.

While grief and pain and worry are heavy burdens to carry, especially on you’re own, so too is joy and excitement and good news.

Everyone knows and expects that the negative emotions are gonna make you feel low and weighed down. That’s why we lean on our systems of support. To lesson our load and share the weight so that our pieces of pain may feel a little less heavy to carry – even for a few moments.

That’s not to say it still doesn’t suck.

And badly.

But sharing your grief, your shame, your sadness and your worry helps. Somehow, giving oxygen to what worries our hearts and minds and sharing it with another soul is soothing.

But what I didn’t realize, until yesterday, is that joy and happiness and excitement and really good news can also feel heavy and make us weighed down.

We’re meant to give oxygen to our happiness and share it as well.

The best parts of our lives are meant to be appreciated and honored with those who we love and who also love us back. Not having a system of support to help us carry the weight of really happy and good news can feel almost burdensome, too.

And that surprised me.

I’ve been grateful for the people who have been in my corner while I have weathered some horrible storms. But just as important as those who helped to carry me through the tough stuff are those who stand with me and smile and are excited for me and my happiness and my life “wins”.

I hope you have people to celebrate with.

When there’s no one to call when you’re bursting at the seams with joy, that joy can quickly feel muted or less than.

And it absolutely shouldn’t.

So find your cheerleading section, y’all. We need those people who clap for us and smile with us just as much as we need those folks who help us when we’re down.

Xoxo

Always.

#keepshining

Keeping Score

It’s funny how there are times in life where you absolutely need to take a step back and re-evaluate your life. Most recently, that is happening for me as I’m about to celebrate my 42nd birthday in a few days.

I’ve had a number of starts, stops and resets in my personal journey and just as I think I’ve finally started to figure (some) things out, the universe seems to shake things up again. I begin (again) to rethink all of my decisions that have brought me to where I am at the present moment and I take time to really look at my world and my life and my choices and ask myself the hard questions.

I wonder does anyone else find themselves second guessing things over and over again? I’m envious of the people in the world who just seem to have gotten things right and appear for all intents and purposes to be coasting through their lives. (If that’s you reading this, you need to call me or write a how-to book because I feel like my time is ticking away and my life is overwrought with mistakes on top of more mistakes.)

I really do want to get things right. Just once.

Overall, I just want peace and quiet deep down and all the way into my soul because I’m tired, y’all. At the same time, in my current role as a Bereavement Coordinator for a local Hospice, I have the honor of spending time with people in their final days and sometimes hours while supporting their families and significant others as they learn their way forward in their grief. I’ve found that I’m so envious of those people who have their forever person to hold their hand through their life’s journey. Recently I’ve supported people who have had “their person” for 50+ years. It seems a rare thing in this day and age and it’s bittersweet to have a small window in to a love like that.

And then I think to myself, maybe I’m my own person. Maybe there’s no real “ride or die” that’s meant for me. Maybe my journey is meant to have starts and stops and resets because I’m supposed to learn grace and patience and perseverance along the way with fierce independence? And if that’s the case: yikes. That’s hella scary to me.

I love people. I love people fiercely. But maybe a fierce and hard love like that burns so brightly and then, ultimately burns out for a reason. Maybe I’ve given too much of what’s inherently me, away.

I don’t have the answers for me. I had hoped that I’d have my shit figured out by now. The only thing I really know for sure anymore is that I know absolutely nothing.

I know that there are no absolutes for me and there haven’t yet been any black and white situations where I’ve known what’s what. There’s all kinds of shades of grey.

And maybe that too, is a lesson that this life is teaching me. That I’m not ready for the test or the final exam so to speak. I’m still learning and growing and studying and hoping that I’ll ace it when my time comes.

Let’s cross our fingers and hope.

Much love.

Always.

xoxo