#MondaysMoments
June 15 2020
If you google, “how do you calm yourself,” you will find many lists of ideas. For me, I default to a spiritual practice created by Mary Mrozowski entitled Welcoming Prayer. This is something I do w...
Monday, June 15, 2020
June 8 2020
Another important point about our theme “How Do You Calm Yourself?” is the need to take care of yourself so that your body, mind and spirit are best equipped to deal with stressors and anxiety. Whe...
Monday, June 8, 2020
June 1 2020
The theme we chose for this month is “How Do You Calm Yourself?” The first point I want to make is maybe it’s not something you need to do. Stress is what moves us to take action and turns into a p...
Monday, June 1, 2020
May 25 2020
As we conclude this month’s discussion of becoming a butterfly, I leave you with this quote by Maya Angelou said:
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has go...
Monday, May 25, 2020
May 18 2020
Another comparison between becoming a butterfly and going through the grief of losing a loved one has to do with the struggle involved. If you watch a butterfly as it emerges from its chrysalis, it...
Monday, May 18, 2020
May 11 2020
In order for a caterpillar to become a butterfly, it takes time in a cocoon. It spins a cocoon, gives up its life as a caterpillar and begins to transform. The cocoon provides protection while the ...
Monday, May 11, 2020
May 4 2020
Our theme this month is “Becoming the Butterfly.” We sometimes call grief one of the dark emotions. The darkness is obscure. Before a butterfly emerges from a chrysalis, it is in darkness. A lot go...
Monday, May 4, 2020
Previous Posts
December 11 2023
I wasn’t always comfortable with the concept of, “Dare! Silence.” I grew up in a house with five kids and two parents, so silence was not something that happened often. When I began to practice a s...
December 4 2023
This month’s theme is “Dare! Silence.” Silence is very important throughout our lives, especially on our grief journeys. Silence can be intimidating, and we often try to fill it when we encounter i...
November 27 2023
To close this month, please read Anne Hillman’s poem, “We Look With Uncertainty” as you notice “something new is being born in” you while making new treasured memories.
We look with uncertainty
be...
November 20 2023
My favorite holidays is Thanksgiving. In terms of the meanings behind other holidays, I’m all in. But I can do without their hype and commercialization. So as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, ...
November 13 2023
As I was writing this month’s posts about our theme of “Memories Become Treasures,” the song “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac started to play. When our youngest child went off to college, this song mad...
November 6 2023
This month’s theme is “Memories Become Treasures.” In a recent grief education and support group I was leading we talked about looking at old photographs of deceased loved ones and how those pictur...
October 30 2023
To close out this month, read these words of poet John O'Donohue:
The dead are not distant or absent. They are alongside us. When we lose someone to death, we lose their physical image and presenc...