Posts Tagged: resilience

FullSet — A Hot Irish Band

March 14th, 2013
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I just discovered the infectious and energetic sounds of an Irish band called FullSet, recently named “New Group of the Year” for 2012 by the Live Ireland Music Awards.
Just listening to their music makes me feel better!
Music definitely has healing powers and therapists have found that music’s curative powers can alleviate pain and help not only those of us recovering from a loss but also people recovering from strokes and other medical traumas.
Music unlocks differents parts of the brain depending on the music’s pitch, harmony or rhythm and provides a medium for creative expression whether your are … Read More

It’s All In Your Attitude

March 6th, 2013
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Hi Dear Friends! Yesterday I went for my annual eye exam and of course the doctor dilated my eyes.  I now have to use eye drops three to four times a day.  One is a prescription drop and the other is an over-the-counter brand.  I am just getting used to this new routine and I am finding that it’s a lot of drops to have rolling down my face.  Better get some water-proof mascara right? Needless to say, computer time has been temporarily shortened but today I still wanted to post some thoughts about healing and managing life’s wacky stresses.… Read More

The Loss of A Child

March 5th, 2013
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When I have been in support group sessions and listened as people have talked about losing a spouse, I can almost feel the unspoken emotional support developing within the group; a sense of bonding, a feeling of “having been there” in the expressed feeling or thought.  A supportive dialogue sometimes follows and I’ve heard people say after the sessions that they have felt a sense of personal progress in working through their own emotions because they heard someone else express familiar thoughts and feelings. Being around other widows and widowers can be a blessing after you have lost a spouse. … Read More

Lessons Learned

March 4th, 2013
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I try to clear my brain on the weekends and taking long walks or short runs usually does it for me.  I like to make an effort to wipe my mental slate clean of whatever happened last week and get rid of it so I don’t carry it into the next week. However, this weekend I am fighting a cold and the weather in Washington, DC was just too cold and windy to allow me to get out in the elements. Instead, I exercised indoors on my stationary bicycle and the only way to break the monotony of  being in… Read More

Writing About Grief & Finding The Right Words

February 26th, 2013
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I think the hardest thing about writing is writing.                                                ~ Journalist, Author and Screenwriter Nora Ephron During Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony, tributes were paid to those in the film industry who passed away in the past year.  Nora Ephron was among the brilliant people in the entertainment business who sadly died last year.  She most certainly was a bright twinkling star in her own right and the producers of the show chose to display the above quote in her honor. Ephron was a keen observer of American culture and especially the stormy and romantic relationships between men and women. … Read More

Silver Linings Playbook

February 25th, 2013
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Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence I applaud the beautiful and sensitive movie, Silver Linings Playbook, which came away from the Academy Awards last night with Jennifer Lawrence winning an Oscar for Best Actress. I had heard a lot about this movie before I recently saw it and I blown away by it.  Silver Linings Playbook definitely lived up to its reputation as a solid, slightly edgy, movie and it stands out because its story and its actors are courageous and hopeful.  The movie shines a light on two subjects that make people uncomfortable: grieving and mental health, and weaves these… Read More

Roger Rosenblatt’s Reflections

February 13th, 2013
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Some wonderful friends on the West Coast gave me Roger Rosenblatt’s book, Kayak Morning, as a Christmas present.  I was familiar with Rosenblatt as a writer for Time magazine and also as a columnist for The Washington Post, but was unfamiliar with the tragic death of his daughter, Amy Solomon,  a 38-year-old wife and mother of three children, from a heart condition. In Kayak Morning, which was written two years after Amy’s death, Rosenblatt explores the human experience of loss.  His descriptions of his grief and his reflections about his daughter Amy’s death are calm and straightforward yet poignant. It… Read More

It’s Your Road

February 5th, 2013
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Thought For The Day. . . I know this picture is a bit on the grainy side, but I really liked the sentiment of the saying: “It’s your road, and yours alone.   Others may walk it with you, But no one can walk it for you.” It would be nice if someone could take our place and walk on our road for awhile; perhaps making it less painful. Wouldn’t that be nice? But we don’t know where our road is going to take us, do we?  I believe that my road has been painful but it also has been a… Read More

Breaking Out of Expectations

February 4th, 2013
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Photo Courtesy NY Daily News When I write about rebuilding our lives after a loss, I don’t mean to make it sound as though I suddenly woke up one morning and decided “today is the day I’m going to try to put a brand new life together.” Instead, what I really mean to say is that it is a step-by-step process; figuring out what to do after your loved one has died is a much more subtle process that usually evolves slowly, almost as though you were hesitantly putting your toes into a cold ocean and getting used to the… Read More