Grief doesn't ever disappear.
We just find a space in our hearts for the loved ones we've lost.
Our aim is to get to the place in our spiritual journey where we can process our grief.
We can stand face to face with it and see it for what it is.
Love with no place to go.
Find a comfortable space for yourself.
We're going to spend a few moments today breathing and working through some of our grief.
If at any time you become overwhelmed with an emotion,
Allow yourself to feel that emotion and listen to yourself.
Do your best to focus on your breath and allow your stomach to rise and fall with each inhale.
Close your eyes and turn all of your focus to your breath.
If you've lost someone,
You are not alone.
This week marks three years since my dad left this world.
He was a young 58 and I often think about how each year I get closer to the age that he lived to and I will surpass that age at some point,
Having more life experience and time than my father did.
Whoever you are here for today,
I want you to know that they loved you no matter what terms they left on.
They loved you.
Allow your lungs and belly to expand as you breathe in all the nutrients that life has to offer.
This world isn't the end of our existence.
There is a deeper,
More spiritual existence beyond this place.
I still see my dad in hummingbirds and in the waves dancing on the shore at the beach.
Life isn't about getting rid of the feelings.
There is no world where you will just wake up feeling like everything is new again.
Our lives have changed.
They are forever changed.
The sooner you move to the acceptance of this new life you are living,
The more freedom you will find in your grieving process.
There are heavy moments of tears and sadness.
There are moments of laughter in the memories.
There are moments where you might feel nothing.
All of that is part of the process.
Like a tree in the wilderness,
We have a trunk,
A foundation,
Which guides us through our day to day.
This looks like a meditation practice,
A self-care practice,
This moment right here and now that you found for yourself.
Allow the cool air to enter your nose,
Move down your throat,
Fill up your chest and your stomach and allow it to leave the same way that it came.
Like a tree in the wilderness,
We have branches that extend and sustain us through our life.
They are made up of the people,
Places and things we encounter.
Allow yourself to live in that for a second.
You are like a tree.
Inhale and let it all go.
Like a tree in the wilderness,
We have leaves that stand the test of the seasons of our lives.
They change color and they glide to nature's floor just like our thoughts and emotions.
Always changing,
Always evolving.
They come and they go.
Trees have roots that are connected underneath the ground,
Unseen to the eye.
With these roots,
Trees can communicate to other trees because they are connected just like we are in this space,
In this reality.
We are all connected to the source.
The importance of finding your connection to source is that it will actually just free you from all of the emotions,
Feelings,
Thoughts.
You'll be free to be you and that can come with whatever mess but you'll be able to handle it because you'll be authentically you.
The thing that moved me into processing my grief was the fact that I know my dad wouldn't want me to wallow in my grief.
He would want me to get out there,
To live,
To explore,
To discover the truest version of myself.
He would want me to be happy.
That is the case for any loved ones that have left us.
They would want us to live and live fully,
Deeply,
Madly.
Grief happens when love has nowhere to go.
It's the love that we've given them and we have no way to do that now without them here.
But what if we allowed that love that we would give to them to come back to ourselves?
The love that we would be receiving from them.
Place a hand on your heart.
Allow your chest to rise and fall with your natural breath.
You are loved.
You matter.
Your feelings are important.
You are not alone in your grieving process.
You are able to take it day by day and moment by moment.
Grief is a roller coaster.
There's going to be so many ups and downs and twists and turns.
But we're all along for the ride because we're going to be met with this again and again and again.
The greatest advice I was given when my dad passed was from a friend who lost her dad when she was younger.
She said,
People are going to tell you that it gets better,
That you'll get through this.
But that's not true.
You will always hold a space in your heart for that person and your life is now forever changed.
It's different.
And while there's no going back to what life was like before,
We can move forward and know that our loved ones are happy when we choose happiness.
Thank you so much for showing up today and working through your grief with me.
I hope you continue to find love and space for yourself and remember,
You're never alone.