Today touches the hearts of all Americans in a deeper way than any other. For those who were alive and old enough to remember September 11, 2021 it brings up specific memories and, likely, trauma of the actual terrorist attacks. It touches on grief for people we lost and also the sense of safety and ease that many lost. Trauma and grief once again showing up and opening our broken hearts.

It's helpful to have each other to remember together. To witness each other and say "yes, I remember, too. How was it for you?"

And we also can remember the love, strength, and bravery that was shown that day and in the years afterwards. Many of the actions and support that came from that day were of drawing together.

Today I will be hosting a few friends over for a simple potluck supper of Thanksgiving. We'll share a meal and gratitude as well as the comfort of each other's company as we walk through grief together and have joy.

Grief isn't about forgetting and sadness, anger, and other uncomfortable or conflicting feelings will come up like roundhouse kicks to the head when we least expect it. And we can find connection, love, and joy in our lives, too. Grief doesn't have to own us simply because it's a part of our lives. We choose to grieve and to love.

Peace be with you today.

Much love,
​Laura 

Each person has a different approach to grief and finding their way through the heart break. For many, at least part of that path includes time leaning into religions, seeking solace and connection in the midst of the pain.

Buddhism may not be the religion you primarily identify with, but there is a lot of strength to be had here in learning to be present and peaceful in suffering. 

Here is a short (less than 7 minutes) video on YouTube by Roshi Joan Halifax.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl3bTHxqW0o

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A great delight in this world is the love and companionship of animals who have decided to trust and care for you.

The hard part is that they often live much shorter lives than the humans who care for them, or even the other animals in your home, neighborhood, and life. It's a pain that children, adults, and other animals feel. Yes, indeed, animals grieve, too.

At some point we will need to work through the grief and heart break of amazing animals that we've been lucky enough to love. 

In addition to the Grief Recovery for Pet Loss book listed on the main resources page, we also suggest this pamphlet by the Ohio State University  veterinary program on handling that. 

See the full brochure, published in 2020, here:
vmc.vet.osu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/coping_with_loss_brochure_2020_web.pdf
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Creating in any fashion that is natural to you is a healing and universal way to work through grief.

While it's important to come to completion with the relationships you have grief over, and not stay busy to avoid grief, there are also times when we need to do, make, and create in order to heal and cope.

​The New York Times on May 25, 2024 published this piece about 10 Artists on Living and Creating Through Grief.  See the full article here: 

www.nytimes.com/2024/05/25/arts/grief-loss-jesmyn-ward-richard-grant.html

Several group members over the years have shared a similar experience: despite their grief they can't cry.

Sometimes they don't care. Other times it's actually quite convenient. At times it's bothered them and they've wondered about it. They usually feel easier about it once they've shared about it. Everyone's grief is unique and grief can be different minute by minute and hour by hour so it's no surprise that tears may not come even when the sadness does.

But that's an intellectual response. Beyond the mental part of it, many have shared sometimes they would LIKE to cry but can't. They feel that a good cleansing cry seems like it would feel great and can't seem to get there.

Some people have shared that using a movie that induces tears is a helpful way to get things flowing. Others have found frustrating conversations with government entities or utility companies can do the trick. 

Most recently one of our members shared that the story of the lobsterman helped him cry and he was so grateful.

I'm sharing that link here for those who need to feel some cleansing tears.

 https://themoth.org/stories/a-lobstermans-tale

Much love, 
Laura
 

We could write all about it, but we thought we'd leave that to the more experienced people at The Tapping Solution

They didn't create tapping and there are thousands of people who offer tapping workshops, therapy, and instruction, but we enjoy the work that they do at The Tapping Solution the most. They put on an amazing free 10 day online Tapping Summit every Spring as well. 

The following is directly quoted from TheTappingSolution.com./tapping-101. Please follow the link through for lots of detailed research, how-to, and FAQ's.

From The Tapping Solution:

What is Tapping?
Tapping, also known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), is a powerful stress relief technique. Tapping is based on the combined principles of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. 

Studies have shown that Tapping decreases cortisol (often called the stress hormone) in your body. The World Health Organization has announced that stress is the health epidemic of the 21st century. 

This is because stress is linked to anxiety, weight gain, sleep problems, lack of motivation, chronic pain, stomach issues, and depression. Tapping is proven to reduce stress, lower cortisol, improve sleep, reduce anxiety, relieve pain, increase productivity, and so much more! 

Stress is also detrimental to your immune system because when you're stressed, your immune system's ability to fight off antigens is reduced, and you are more susceptible to infections. Tapping helps to lower stress, and in turn, allows your immune system to do its work!

To keep reading click here...
​thetappingsolution.com/tapping-101