I often think that the words we use, don’t help us through our bereavement. If we believe it is broken then, we automatically think that there is no hope. There is hope, we have read stories on the blog of people who have found a new way of being happy, or even falling in love again. Maybe we should see that we need to find the GLUE to mend the crack

G = Getting out and about again to re-join life

L = Love. Sharing our love with family and friends to show ourselves that we are still loving people who care

U = Understanding that we need to take small steps each day to rebuild our life. There is no one big answer, just incremental steps that will help heal our pain.

E = Exercise. Our heart is a muscle that needs strengthening after it has been poorly. The best way is exercising – maybe a little walk each day, maybe some yoga, maybe joining a gym class. The more we strengthen, the quicker we help our heart heal

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Post from: Widows Quest

1. Publish the Widows Quest podcast by 12 January and keep to a weekly schedule.
2. Lose 2 stone in weight(28lbs)
3. Join a community group to support others with bereavement.
4. Achieve a life/work balance by downsizing both my career and my lifestyle.
5. Move house – back nearer to my family and friends.

I am proud to say that (3) and (4) have been achieved! I am disappointed to say that my house is still for sale so (5) is still on hold. As for (2) well the news is superb as I have lost over 60lbs this year and feel so much better for that…you can track my journey over at Middle Age Shed.

Which brings me to (1)….which has been on the backburner…until now. I will be publishing a podcast to go along with this blog…I plan on it being weekly and cover tips, ideas of how to cope and also inspirational stories from our community as a way of helping others to overcome their grief. So I am looking for people who might come on the show (I would record over the telephone) or who want to e-mail their stories to me  – anna@b5media.com.

I will let you know in the next few days about how to listen to the show….would love any comments on how I could provide value to you, in your life. How I can help you overcome the bereavement…what this show can do to help you…

Post from: Widows Quest

Love brought

• Laughter at even the silliest things
• Tears of joy at the happiest times
• The feeling of being wanted, the feeling of belonging
• Days  that seemed to fly by…
• The feeling of being safe
• Pain when I thought my heart would explode  

and love brought a flood of tears when we were parted…

What did love to bring to you?

Post from: Widows Quest

• The need to build a memorial to allow their legacy to live on.It may be physically smaller than Gracelands (!) but not emotionally.
• Find ways of keeping them in your life…Elvis does this through his songs, maybe for your loved ones it is through their photo’s or their stories.
• People with whom you have had a special bond, never fade from your mind.  
• Celebrating their life is as important as remembering their death.
• The power of song…Elvis moved people singing, we can find comfort in listening to the words.

Elvis may have sang about a “Wooden Heart” but the human heart is strong, it feels, it cries…we may sometimes feel that we wish we had a wooden heart, but for me our feeling heart is what makes human beings so special.

Post from: Widows Quest

Post from: Widows Quest

“A lot happened when Ingrid died,” Nyrerod told The Associated Press. She said Bergman continued to feel the presence of von Rosen after she died, and abandoned his view of death as the absolute end of the human soul.

“He deserted that altogether and instead hoped he could rejoin her,” she said”

Death has such a profound effect on our lives, how we think, how we love…..but no matter our level of celebrity death causes us pain. Celebrity may bring you riches, but it can never get rid of the pain of losing a loved one.

Post from: Widows Quest

1.  Accepting his death. Accepting that it was better that he has gone than him suffering as much as he was…no matter how strong the pain, the pain would have been worse watching him suffer.
2. Allowing friends to persuade her to go out…”giving in” and as much as she did not want to go out, forcing herself into social situations.
3. The power of the telephone and talking to her friends – it provided comfort and also filled in those lonely hours.

Mum has done superbly well, Dad would be so proud of her….she has had bad times but here she is at 77,   coming up to 4 years without Dad and looking great. She is sat as I type, planning her next cruise….something she would never have done before!

Post from: Widows Quest

B= Believe in your ability to cope with the pain and come through even stronger.

E= Expect to be happy again.

L=Learn to love again. Trust that the benefit of love is greater than the pain of loss.

I=Inspire your inner beliefs by setting goals for your future…inspirational goals that you can work towards.

E= Emotions. Understand your emotions, don’t fight them. Learn how to control them and what ma  kes you happy.

F= Face your problems – they will not go away, face them to face your fears.

Post from: Widows Quest

D= Determined to continue to live life to the fullest – and not waste the precious time we have on this earth.

I= Inner thoughts are so important. Your self talk is so strong, the more you can change the way you talk to yourself in a positive way, the more you start to move forward.

S= Sentimental! I never used to keep things, now I treasure all the little mementos.

C= Courage. It would be easy to fold but I found inner courage to face the fear of the future.

O= Openness. Before I kept my emotions very much to myself, now I allow others in and allow others to help me.

V= Value of family. Before I took for granted my family, now I invest time in the people who are so precious to me.

E= Empathy. I now empathise with people on a totally different level – it has made me a better person.

R= Resilience. I have had problems but I am coming through them – grief brings out that inner resilience that you didn’t even know you had.

Post from: Widows Quest

ChristianPF presents How to make more money with your emergency fund posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “A quick how-to showing you how to use an emergency fund to save more money and increase it’s growth rate.”

Millionaire Mommy Next Door presents Create Your Treasure Map To Riches posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door, saying, “Visualizing what wealth means to you shapes the way your mind thinks about money and your life. Your mind then sets in motion the actions necessary to begin achieving your goals. By taking the time to establish what real wealth looks like to you, you direct your efforts in ways that will make becoming rich, in your own terms, simple.Are you ready to embark on a fun and rewarding journey towards your own riches? Great! We’ll start with an exercise that is really fun. In fact your entire family will enjoy this one.”

Aaron Wakling presents Don?t Allow A Low Credit Score To Cost You Thousands Per Year posted at The Credit & Credit Card Blog saying, “Did you know that a low credit score could be costing you hundreds and even thousands of dollars per year, and perhaps even more? What’s more, were you aware that there is something you can do about that?”

Eric Hudin presents Estate – Don?t Be Left Holding The Bag posted at My Estate Planning Career Blog, saying, “Ned almost lost the farm that had been in his family for 8 generations! Make sure you dont make the same mistake Ned did.”

Allen Taylor presents What Are Your Wealth-Building Goals? posted at Investing World Today, saying, “The money is out there. No matter how many people tell you that we are in the midst of a starvation economy, that the market is doing this or that, and that it’s too risky to play the game, so to speak, people are getting rich every day. That is the reality.”

Tim Ramsey presents Debt Consolidation Loan To Deliver You From Debt posted at My Debt Relief Blog, saying, “High amount of debt needs a drastic solution and a debt consolidation loan is the best solution that can unburden your load of debt.”

Warren Wong presents The Life Pursuit Of Money posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, “Why should making money be a life pursuit? Because making money actually helps people! Here’s why.”

Eric Stanley presents Need a Money Making Idea? posted at Personal Finance Blog Articles, saying, “There are so many money making ideas you can choose from online that anyone, no matter what skill level, can find something.”

Mark Kimsey presents Always Make More Than The Minimum Repayment On Your Credit Card posted at PrsnlFinance.com.

Colin Robertson presents Watch Out for Multiple Balance Transfer Fees posted at The Truth About Credit Cards.com, saying, “thanks!”

Ryan presents 101 Ways to Trim Your Budget posted at Care on Credit.

Ant presents How to Start an Online Store posted at The Beef Jerky Blog.

KCLau presents Money Lessons from Tranformers movie posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Transformers is an entertaining movie. It also teaches us about personal finance.”

Warren Wong presents Just Do It posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, “Are you pondering over a task? Are you not sure if you should do it? Here’s why you should just do it!”

John Wesley presents 78 Timeless Wealth Building Tips from Benjamin Franklin posted at Pick the Brain – Wit and Wisdom for Your Inspiration.

Mark Kimsey presents How Getting Your Credit Report Can Help You posted at PrsnlFinance.com.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Post from: Widows Quest