Expertise I Didn’t Want
October 6, 2024 No CommentsPhoto by Tim Marshall on Unsplash 29 February 2020 It is dawning on me that I am an expert in Grief. My own, for sure. But increasingly, that of some others, too. Not in terms of what they are experiencing, and how it feels inside of them, but in terms of being able to help them: Differentiate pain […]
Read MoreThe Weirdness of February
October 6, 2024 No Comments28th February 2020 April is the cruellest month. Because TS Eliot said so. And because Mike died in April. And our wedding anniversary is in April. And his funeral date (the same date as our wedding anniversary). No – September is the cruellest month because I no longer have the back to school routine for […]
Read MorePicking at Grief Scabs
October 6, 2024 No Comments28 February 2020 February is weird. Always slightly off. As a kid, I found it weird that there were only 28 days in the month. Then 29 days just as we were getting used to the 28 day pattern. I wondered in awe at the brilliance of the scientists from so long ago who figured […]
Read MoreTread Lightly on my Memories
October 6, 2024 1 Comment24 February 2020 I live in Small Town France. In a village, actually. It’s a lovely, charming village called Sergy, nestling under the Jura mountain range, and looking across (over Geneva, Switzerland) towards the Mont Blanc. Magical scenery. Four proper seasons, each lasting 3 months. The kind of place where, when it’s Spring, Spring is […]
Read MoreValidation Matters: Five Not Three
October 6, 2024 No Comments16th February 2020 I have had a tough week. First, hearing difficult health news regarding someone I care about deeply. Then being the recipient of highly confrontational/aggressive behaviour from family friends that I cannot even begin to comprehend at this stage. Ending with the words, “do not contact us again”. I need an outlet for […]
Read MoreOne Death or Four?
October 6, 2024 3 CommentsPhoto by Jude Beck on Unsplash 12 February 2020 It’s about 3am and I can’t sleep. I slept from about 11.30pm to 2am and now I am awake. Last night I slept from about 9pm to 3am and then was awake till I got up for my Tuesday morning swim. I try to go back to sleep for […]
Read MoreRussian Mountains
October 6, 2024 1 Comment10 February 2020 Photo by Pedro Velasco on Unsplash Last week, on Thursday 6th February, I was having “a good day”. I had been for a long swim early in the morning and felt good in the water. I had a calm-ish day planned in the beautiful office space I have on Thursdays – just a few calls […]
Read MoreLife After Death Through Three Lenses of Change
October 6, 2024 1 CommentPhoto by Simeon Muller on Unsplash 3 February 2020 In my recent experience learning about Human Systems Dynamics, one of the frameworks I was introduced to was called “Three Kinds of Change”. It posits that there are three types of change we face, and knowing what kind we are experiencing is important to helping us find appropriate ways […]
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