I have found that gratitude is another antidote to overwhelm and despair. When I began my gratitude practice many years ago, I found inspiration in a little book titled “Attitudes of Gratitude” by M.J. Ryan. The book is packed with inspirational reading and notes on feeling grateful. Practicing gratitude every day has helped me immensely, even during the difficult times of my husband’s illness and passing. After drawing, coloring, and cutting out the pair of hands on this canvas, I…
I found one antidote to overwhelm was quiet. Inviting quiet might seem like a simple thing, but allowing myself to settle into the silent time I needed was not easy. When I was grieving, I wished to seek distractions to avoid facing my pain rather than sitting with my wounded heart and listening to what it had to tell me. Now, I have come to appreciate the value of silence, which brings me comfort and inspiration. I suppose it has…
Loss of any kind can be overwhelming. The feelings of overwhelm showed up in different ways for me. At first, I was in shock and couldn’t truly comprehend that my husband was gone. I knew it on one level but struggled to accept the reality for many months. There was the initial shock of loss, during which my mind couldn’t fathom that my husband was gone. I knew it on one level, but struggled to actually come to terms with…
I felt the need to gather positive thoughts fairly early in my grieving. The old expression “Feather Your Nest” kept coming to mind, so I composed this little poem to express my feelings. Feather a nest where your heart can restLined with blessings soft as down.Moisten with tears over the yearsYou are never truly alone. As I wrote the poem, I remembered a small nest I’d had leftover from a craft project years before. After covering a canvas square with…