mindfulmetamorphos

The days of this past week have felt sacred to me. Each day marked a five-year anniversary, leading up to the day when we located and retrieved Graham’s body from the frozen lake through which he’d fallen on New Year’s Day. We could finally say goodbye. The presence of those anniversaries—all thirty-eight days of them-- has been palpable. Each year, it has felt as though my body knew before my mind did—carrying the memory somatically, long before I named it. The body truly keeps the score....

We often associate grief with the profound emotions that follow the death of someone  we love. While this is certainly one of the most obvious forms of grief, grief is far more expansive. It can live quietly within us through countless other moments and losses or scream for attention at the most unexpected times. One loss may awaken the emotions of another that has been lying dormant for years. The Conscious Grieving™ model identifies five specific forms of grief, each of which may be...

This is a poignant time for me. For thirty-eight days, from January 1-- the day my son Graham went missing, and we later learned, the day he fell through the frozen lake-- until February 7, when we ultimately located and retrieved his body, I mark each 5-year anniversary with ritual and remembrance. January 20 was the day my friend Heather prayed with me for Graham to be found. I had nearly canceled, but something—or someone—told me I needed to be there. It feels like mystery and miracle were...