In Written Sympathy

January 30th, 2013
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Yesterday I wrote a sympathy card to a man who once lived across the street from our family when I was growing up.

Sadly, his wife died last week after suffering for about a year with a degenerative illness.  He could no longer take care of his wife by himself and instead moved her to a small caring medical facility a few blocks from their house.  It was a difficult decision for the whole family and I understand that he visited her almost every day.  I haven’t seen either one of them in years but they still are important people … Read More

What Are You Thinking?

January 26th, 2013
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Following-up to yesterday’s post about writing as a way to process your thoughts and emotions, I just wanted to add a few quick thoughts. We want and need to connect to each other because we are human.  Reaching out to one another, expressing our thoughts and emotions is essential.Otherwise, we are isolated and afraid; cut off from human interaction and we don’t allow ourselves to have the opportunity to grow or change.  We are just lost in our own thoughts as though we are watching the same video on a loop tape.  Over and over again.  Stuck. At a certain… Read More

Writing Through Your Emotions

January 25th, 2013
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To me, processing or working through difficult emotions such as grief, anger, frustration and confusion, is in a sense, breaking down the walls of why I feel a certain way.  Once I think I have figured out a pretty good reason why I think this is happening, I try to either get rid of as much of the feeling as I can or I try to readjust or “rebuild” my way of looking at the situation. During the “figuring out” stage (which can be hours or months), my mind is usually a jumble of thoughts and emotions.  I may be… Read More

An Honest Dialogue

January 14th, 2013
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After a loss, people often feel that they have no resources. They feel they have no one to talk to about the extreme pain they are feeling. A little over two years ago, I launched Cry, Laugh, Heal as a place where people could go to read and discuss grieving and say to themselves, “I’m not alone.  Someone else gets it.” Because in the end, no one ever wants to feel alone. Since starting the blog I have written about grief and about the crucial process of trying to put the pieces of your life back together after the death… Read More

Mental Relaxation

January 8th, 2013
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Planes, trains, cars and boats are not always at the ready to take us to dreamy destinations. Work, finances and other life responsibilities sometimes get in the way of traveling even though everyone needs take occasional breaks from their surroundings, especially if life is particularly stressful or painful. You can’t always take a vacation even if you really need or want one. But you can read a book. I saw this wonderful saying from Dr. Suess (posted above) on one of my favorite websites, The Silver Pen (www.thesilverpen.com) and was reminded of the magical healing power of reading and books.… Read More

Dealing With “The Blues”

January 7th, 2013
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  Covered Bridge in West Cornwall, CT  By Thomas Schoeller I keep a folder of story ideas and I was search through it yesterday for timely stuff that I thought could help all of us in our different emotional journeys through our blessed lives.  Some of the ideas in my folder are things I have heard in conversations or on the radio or TV and other ideas are pieces of papers I clipped from newspapers and magazines. I came across the following bit of wisdom from The Washington Post’s Marguerite Kelly.  Kelly writes a popular and long-running advice column called… Read More

Happy New 2013!!

January 1st, 2013
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Happy New Year to you and yours! I hope you are not feeling too hung over today from the fun you had last night and may your first day of the new year be a harmonious one. My New Year’s Eve last night was a low key one for me: an early dinner with family and then home to try and stay awake to watch the ball drop in New York’s Times Square.  I ended up falling asleep on the family room couch way before midnight (no surprise there) but then woke up at midnight because the neighbors were setting… Read More

A Merry Christmas Message

December 25th, 2012
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Merry Christmas Dear Readers, May you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas! The holiday season may remind you of a special person who is no longer with you, just as I am reminded of my husband who died nine years ago.  Our lives have been forever changed and so have we. But there is always hope for a renewed future; a future that we can purposely rebuild so that we may move forward.  You are not alone. We bring our loved ones with us as we slowly figure out our new lives and as we do, we… Read More

Do Not Look Away

December 23rd, 2012
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Courtesy of CNN.com     Hold a hand. give a hug.  Open your heart. We cannot not be afraid to offer comfort and empathy.  I know it’s difficult to step outside of yourself and reach out to others in pain. To find a way to comfort and empathize with someone in pain requires a certain amount of introspection; an ability to put the brakes on your own needs and try to put yourself in the other person’s place.  Compassion requires you to stop thinking about yourself and imagine what another person is feeling while dealing with a life crisis or… Read More