Music is a powerful mover of our emotions. A song on the radio can produce a wry smile or a stream of tears at the memories it evokes. We might discover new songs while we’re grieving; a playlist of comfort and also uplift. Songs like “To Where You Are” (see link below) Other songs remind…
I’ve now returned home from my extended visit to Australia, meeting (most of) my partner’s large family for the first time. This was the third year of my kilometres = years birthday walking challenge on behalf of the Samaritans. I walked 32 km while still in Australia, and another 30 km back home here in…
Another post about ‘The Way’ but mostly about our uniqueness as individuals. After my mother died in 2015, just a month after my brother, and 3 years after my daughter, I really needed to find some peace. I went on a coach trip holiday to Cornwall and while there I did a pilgrim walk. A…
There is no magical destination where grief ends, but there are places on the journey that are not as difficult as others. When we’re feeling hopeless, it’s time to search them out.
If grief is a journey on a tumultuous sea, how can we find calm? Picture a small boat on a rough sea, tossed and battered by the waves. The boat is your life, and you’re a passenger. You’re trying to guide the boat, but there are some circumstances beyond your control. The sea is your…
One of my biggest challenges when I go on one of my adventurous country rambles is finding the way. Some paths or trails are well sign-posted but not always. There is often an amount of map-reading involved, but even with maps and a compass, and an excellent map app & GPS on my smartphone, if…
Grief and the art of reinvention. “The new normal” is a phrase often used in grief circles. It carries the idea that following bereavement, not only are your circumstances changed, but you are too. It can happen suddenly or it might be more subtle. How we react to what is going on around us might…
