When Death Is Near » grieving

Sailing Away from This Life into the Next

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:19:17 +0000

Hello:

I re-found this poem recently and wanted to share it with you and keep it where I can find it again.

The Horizon
attributed to Henry Scott Holland

I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning
breeze and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of
white cloud on the horizon,
Just where the sea and the sky come to mingle with one another.

Then someone at my side says: "There, she is gone."

Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side,
And she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone at my side says,
"There, she is gone," there are other eyes watching her coming.
And other voices ready to take up the glad shout:
"Here she comes!"

And that is dying.

My thoughts and prayers are with you if you are grieving today. It is a long road and it will take some time before your every thought is about your loved one. Take your time to heal.

With love and support,

Judy H. Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, family relationship coach and author

PS: Please join our community of kind, supportive and thoughtful people at http://www.ArtichokePress.com

PSS: I would also like to invite you to visit http://www.encourageselfconfidence.com to see my latest book and the bonuses I am offering to my readers.

Stages of Death-Final Gifts

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:25:07 +0000

Hello from beautiful Montana:

If you or a loved one is coping with a terminal illness my love and support go out to you. This is some of the hardest work in the world-so much to do, people to call, questions to get answered and so little energy to do it all.

Please go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AuntieArtichoke for the 15 minute show I did this morning on this subject. Perhaps it will give you insights and hope.

My advice to you as a Hospice volunteer for gathering Final Gifts, life stories, is to treasure the moments of living while coping with the losses that are ahead. Live fully as best you can until you are no longer in this plane of existence, but have continued your journey.

This can be a time of great personal growth and satisfaction. Remember the 5 most important things from my friend Dr. Ira Byock's book Dying Well;

Forgive me
I forgive you
Thank you
I love you
Goodby

I will be doing an intensive 4 week teleclass on Grieving starting on Thursday November 6. All sessions will be recorded so you will be able to replay it later should you have to miss that one.

This is designed to get you or your loved ones through the holidays. We will provide support, love and guidance to strengthen and sustain you. It will cost you $147.00 and return to you priceless peace and support.

If you are interested, please write to me at Judy@ArtichokePress.com and I will send you the information.

Peace be with you,

Judy H. Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, family relationship coach and author
www.ArtichokePress.com

Expressing Sympathy to Others

admin — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:25:56 +0000

“Grief is so
painfully real, regardless of its origin. The love of,

and attachment to,
an animal friend can equal that of human relationships.

Likewise, the loss
of an animal can be just as devastating.”
Rev. Joel L. Morgan

Hello friends:

The following post is taken from the new eBook that will be coming out soon on grieving the loss of a pet. We will keep you posted.

The stories that have come in from people just like you have been incredible.

One of the toughest
communications for some people is to how to offer sympathy. That is why so many people say nothing at
all. It is not that they are uncaring,
rather they care so much, they don’t want to add to your pain or make you feel
worse.

I was surprised at how many
of the submissions I received talked about lack of support in the
workplace. Then I remembered twenty
years ago when my brother JAllen was killed in a horrible industrial accident.

Working at a local weekly
newspaper at the time, my boss was also a friend and the workplace had felt
like extended family. And yet, two weeks
after the funeral, I was called in and told to “snap out of it.”

Gordon actually looked me
right in the eye and said; “Enough already!
How long are you going to grieve?
We have a paper to put out.”

I told him that I would
probably grieve for the rest of my natural life and to check back with me in a
few years when he had lost someone precious to him.

I have often wondered how he handled grief when it came to his journey of life.

My best to you and if you are sad today, please know that you are never alone. I am sending you warm thoughts and prayers.

Love, Judy H. Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, family relationship coach and author