We are the Reflection of our Lives: How to Survive Loss & Humility

Everyday, I look in the mirror to see the face staring back at me. Sometimes it is lined with stress, sorrow and grief. Other times, it simply smiles in humbled reservation. But the reflection of our lives… that, is who we are — who we represent ourselves to be. For some, it is wearing hearts upon their sleeves; for others, their thoughts and words go unspoken forever.

How to Cope with Anticipatory Grief

Anticipatory grief is the name given to the mix of emotions experienced when we are living in expectation of loss and grieving because of it. Anticipatory Grief is particularly relevant to those who have received a terminal diagnosis and for those who love and care for them.

Terminal diagnosis changes the very structure of our existence, takes away our control and our ability to hope and plan for the future.

Liberation

It is one thing to be free; it is quite another to be liberated. Liberation implies that freedom was absent for a time, and there was bondage. Though it may seem like a dichotomy, grief has both the power to bind and the power to liberate from bondage.

Initially, when a person we love dies, we are in the bondage of grief and it feels as if we will never recover-never be the same again.

You Have to Show Up: On Small Miracles (Okay, maybe not so small)

I hadn’t intended to go to my cousin’s funeral.

That sounds terrible, I know. And if I had chosen to focus on the 18 year estrangement of various factions of my family from each other and my own 15 year estrangement from my uncles (hey, Greeks are a war-like people, what can I say?), I could have patted myself on the back for the fact that I had gone to the wake and let it go at that.

Cultivate a Friendship with Death

Why We Fear Death

“Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark.” - Bacon

There may be a thousand reasons why we fear death, but most of all we fear death because we fear the unknown, and death is an unknown entity to most people. We fear that dying may be painful and we do not know what will happen to us at the point of death.

When The Spirit Leaves The Body

Do you spend most of your time inside or outside of your body? If you know what I’m talking about then I can almost certainly say that you have spent some time outside of your body.

What does it even mean to “be outside” of one’s body? Well, in order to appreciate what this means you must have an experience of your “Self” first and then you must be able to “feel” where that “Self” is geographically speaking.

When Change Comes (Dealing With Grief and Loss)

Needless to say, the time after loss is volatile and confusing for most people. Unresolved issues come to the fore and questions we have not answered must often be confronted. Along with a sense of abandonment and sorrow, anger often arises. Most have little understanding of what they are going through, or what to expect in the future.

How My Four Your Old Son Reacted To The Death Of His Great Nanny Biscuits

My nan was called Margaret and lived until the age of eighty eight. Unfortunately she died in hospital and this article describes how my son reacted to the news of her death. His reaction basically put a smile back onto my face again.

I loved my nan to bits and I would always try to visit her at least once a week.

Handicapped From Suicide

I am 23 years old. I come from a large family. I have 2 brothers (6 and 7), and 3 sisters (2months, 17, and 21). We are a very close famly, but I am especially close with my 17 year old sister. Like twins, with a very special bond. For the most part we all led very normal lives.

Understanding Grief and Loss in Times of War and Disaster

There are many different kinds of losses we can experience in our lives. Indeed, loss in human beings has its beginnings in the birth process that separates the infant from the comfort and security of the mother’s womb into a world where survival is conditional and predicated on individual responsibility. The presumable final loss is the end of the human life cycle caused by death.