#MondaysMoments

September 4 2023

This month our theme is “Surrender Your Soul.” The word soul can be very intimidating. What is it? Where is it? And how do I connect with it? There are no definitive answers to those questions, but...
By Jackie Naginey Hook
Monday, September 4, 2023

August 28 2023

–  I’ll share this poem as we close out our discussion of “Death Is the Memory of the Living.”  At least from my perspective, our lives are so full of dead people that any sane way of li...
By Jackie Naginey Hook
Monday, August 28, 2023

August 21 2023

One of the quotes that I think of in reference to this month’s theme of “Death Is the Memory of the Living” is Thomas Campbell’s quote, “To live in hearts we leave behind, is not to die.” A few wee...
By Jackie Naginey Hook
Monday, August 21, 2023

August 14 2023

Thinking about our theme of “Death Is the Memory of the Living,” I’m so grateful for Continuing Bonds Theory. This theory recognizes that a death does not end a relationship. It’s healthy and even ...
By Jackie Naginey Hook
Monday, August 14, 2023

August 7 2023

Our theme this month is “Death Is the Memory of the Living.” What this means to me is the living carry the memories of both the life and death of their loved ones. Sometimes these memories are comf...
By Jackie Naginey Hook
Monday, August 7, 2023

July 31 2023

To close out this month’s theme of “Yield to Your Grief Journey,” I invite you to let the words of this poem by Padraig Ó Tuama wash over you: To greet sorrow today does not mean that sorrow will ...
By Jackie Naginey Hook
Monday, July 31, 2023

July 24 2023

As we’ve been talking about our theme “Yield to Your Grief Journey,” I’ve been encouraging movement toward grief. Please know that sometimes it’s okay to take a break from grief. In fact, the Dual ...
By Jackie Naginey Hook
Monday, July 24, 2023

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...