Posts Tagged ‘dying’
Our Purpose Is Not A 5-Year Plan
Our purpose is not a 5-year plan. The Universe only guides us one step at a time. I quit my part-time job at the retirement community eighteen months after I’d started there. It no longer brought me joy. Worse, it didn’t help me serve the seniors in the way I wanted to. But the community…
Read MoreThe Door That Opened For Me
The door that opened for me was the most unexpected one and it made no sense, but I walked in. December 2008. A part-time position opened up at a retirement community, a job I was neither qualified for, nor felt excited about. As a brand-new immigrant, I knew nothing about seniors in the western world:…
Read More5 Ways to Support A Loved One Who is Dying
In 5 ways to support a loved one who is dying, I offer you ways to honor their passage of time so that you’re left with no regrets. I’m often asked the question: “How do I prepare for the death of someone I love?” This is such a great question because we all find ourselves…
Read MoreHow Does Attachment Affect Grief?
How does attachment affect grief? Should we remain unattached to avoid the pain of loss? I once received a great question from a workshop participant. She was struggling through the loss of a beloved friend. Here’s the question she asked me. “Should I avoid attachment so that I avoid the pain of loss?” The Buddhist…
Read MoreSurviving the Polar Vortex
Surviving the polar vortex that hit Chicago was no joke. I’m a gal from southern India where a cool day is 72 degrees F. Now, I live in suburban Chicago which went through a polar vortex last week. The temperatures dipped to as low as -27 degrees. Wind chills were between -50 and -60 F.…
Read MoreWe are all One
We are all one. This sounds like a complex truth. What does it even mean? Allow me to explain. Ten years ago on the 27th of January my mother took her last breath. I was so broken by her loss that I couldn’t see beyond my next breath. Leave alone, fast forward to 2019 and…
Read MoreA Grief Retreat is A Safe Space to Heal
A grief retreat is a safe space to heal. I say this with complete confidence, having just returned after facilitating a Grief Healing Retreat “Finding Hope After Loss” in Oxfordshire, U.K., with Daniela Norris and Lo Anne Mayer. The three of us co-founded the International Grief Council in 2015, and this was our first-ever retreat.…
Read More3 Lessons the Dying Taught Me
3 lessons the dying taught me have stayed with me all my life. Serving as a hospice volunteer for five years has been one of my most fulfilling life assignments. During this time, I sat by the bedsides of the dying. As I comforted, consoled, and cared for them, I learned. The dying are literally…
Read MoreHow do I get over the grief of losing my loved one?
How do I get over the grief of losing my loved one? is a question I hear all the time. I wish I could offer a magic formula. Many of my clients struggle with this one. There seems to be a belief that there is a destination called “getting over” that we’re heading to. Not…
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