Grief is a journey, and each person’s journey is unique. Michael F. DuBois had a close relationship with his mother, and when she died when he was 22 he found that he was lost in his grief, seemingly unable to move on. That led him to produce this film, an exploration of his mother’s life and the impact it had on the…
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Grief Support Groups Serving West Los Angeles, Encino and Agoura Hills
Grief Support Groups Serving West Los Angeles, Encino and Agoura Hills
Posts by Michael F. DuBois (Page 3)
When Lynne lost her husband of 52 years, she had good support from family, friends and therapists, but it wasn’t enough. “They want to make you feel better,” she recalls. They wanted to “get things back to where they were.” But she knew that wasn’t the process of grief. So, she sought out HOPE Connection. In the Spousal Loss group, she found what she needed: a safe place to fall.
the ocean knows,
by tides,
when to approach,
when to recede.
grief knows,
the same way,
by the language
of the moon.
Often, poets capture the feelings following the death of our loved one in ways that transcend words. Westley Nash does exactly that in this short poem, read by the author, Left Behind.
After the dust begins to settle following a major loss, people often struggle to return to their routines in a way that honors and makes space for their bereavement. Grief rituals can help people find meaning as well as heal.
Rituals are an important way people can adjust to the loss of a loved one, develop an ongoing connection with the deceased and can help create a connection to your community and support system.
If your spouse or partner has died, you have probably had people say some things to you that are — however unintentional —completely inappropriate. One sentiment expressed in different ways is the idea that we should “move on” with our lives. As if we just need to get over it. In this powerful TED Talk, Nora McInerny talks about the fallacy of “moving on.”
Rabbi Paul Kipnes, MAJE, a popular lecturer on raising spiritually balanced, emotionally whole children, is leader of Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas, California.
There is a secret life of the mourner
That most people just don’t see
There is a secret life of a mourner
Hidden, complex, and now, me.
In HOPE Connection support groups it’s almost a given that someone will talk about being heartbroken because it’s such an accurate description following the death of your spouse or partner. Most people, of course, would say that it’s a metaphorical term — your heart is not literally broken.
In the beautiful song Sanctuary by Carrie Newcomer, she sings
Will you be my refuge, my haven in the storm,
Will you keep the embers warm when my fire’s all but gone?
Will you remember and bring me sprigs of rosemary,
Be my sanctuary ‘til I can carry on, carry on, carry on.
Anyone who has found peace and healing in a HOPE Connection group will identify deeply with Newcomer’s lyrics. HOPE groups are indeed sanctuaries of grace and comfort.
Wendell Berry is a renowned American poet and novelist. One of his most famous poems is The Peace of Wild Things. In this short video, an animated interpretation of the poem plays while Berry reads his lyrics. Members of the HOPE community may relate to Berry’s intimations of the power of nature to comfort and heal the soul.