Yesterday I posted 10 Ways to Be Happy and today I will add a few more to inspire all the widows and widowers out there

Exercise
Listen to music
Get in touch with nature
Reach out to others, friends family and people who need your help
Don’t compare yourself with others – you are you!
Live in the moment. The past has gone, the future is yet to come
Don’t beat yourself up. It solves nothing and only hurts
Accept that life has its ups and downs
Every night reflect on what went well
Believe in yourself

All of these sound easy, all of these sound obvious, all of …read more

As widows or widowers we can be caught between two contrasting fears
The fear of leaving the past behind
The fear of living the future.
We don’t want to move on, yet we want to cope with the pain. We miss our loved ones and cannot imagine loving again in the future. We cry for what we have lost, we cry for what the future holds.
But in reality the past is gone, the future is not here…all we have is now – the present. The fears belong to the past and the future, yet are affecting the present. What we need to do …read more

I was speaking to mum last night and was suddenly struck by much she is doing since the death of dad. She misses him hugely, and they were devoted to each other, that made her grief hard, the bereavement process was a long one for mum.
Yet when I hear her now – she still speaks about Dad on most phone calls – she is getting on with her life and doing things that she would never have done before. In the 4 years she has started to play bowls, using public transport to visit friends (she would never have …read more

I received a wonderful email from someone who has lost his wife and asked me about how to cope when the family starts to quarrel over the death.
Wow, a huge question and one that really does depend on the situation but here are my thoughts..
I think we often as human beings need to be right, when what we need to do is understand that there is often not just a single right answer. Each person is different, although we have common bonds in a family, each family consists of individuals….
Each person will grieve at a different rate, some with anger…others …read more

I designed this Origami Angel in response to the grief I felt at the illness and then death of my beloved sister in law last year.
Even though the origami angels aren’t really on topic for hankeringforyarn, it felt appropriate to post this tutorial as a response to Anna being in need of some healing energy.
As I have been posting the tutorials for the Origami Angel of Peace and Healing, it struck me again how important it is to remind ourselves of the presence of angels in our lives.
Making angel dolls, especially simple ones like this one, is a good way …read more

 
I am sending healing thoughts and energy, to all that need it, whether in body, mind or spirit… may Angels of Peace and Healing surround you- now and always. All ways….
And, here is the final installment of the Origami Angel of Peace and Healing: Part 3

 
Since Anna is sick and can’t blog right now, her blogging buddies from b5 are writing guest posts.
They are really poignant and powerful…..
I’ve been really moved by them.
My contribution is to post instructions for making
Origami Angels of Peace and Healing.
As you fold these angels, please fold in as much healing and peace creating thoughts as possible…..
In Part 1 of this tutorial, the preliminary folds were made.
And here is Part 2. You’ll need scissors for this part.

Anna’s fellow travelers here in the Lifestyle channel of the b5 blogging network are sending her lots of healing thoughts. We’re also ‘keeping her blog warm’, by posting for her while she recuperates.
She writes beautifully about a difficult topic: Grief and grieving. I have a great deal of empathy for Anna.
My family and I have had an unseemly amount of grief in the last few years, coping with life threatening illnesses, and with the deaths of family members, friends, relations, and animal companions. It’s been a difficult passage for us, and it has taught us a …read more

Hi Everyone – Over the next several days, you’re going to be introduced to some special guests from around b5media who are stepping in to help a friend out.
You see, Anna has fallen ill and is currently under the weather and under doctors care so she won’t be posting for a few days, perhaps a little longer – but I promise, she will be back soon.
If you’d like to leave a special message for her, please do so in the comment section of this post. I’ll see that she gets those, at least. As for the rest …read more

Well done to us all for coping – no matter how well or how bad(!) – with our grief. As normal on Sunday I post a series of articles on how to not only cope with the week ahead but tips on how to keep positive and also how to start finding happiness going forward in our lives. Hope you enjoy them.

Shirley presents How to cope with your pain. posted at Brighter Days for you and me!, saying, ““You’ll be okay; you are good at coping with life’s hurdles.” Have you ever heard this and wanted to stomp on the …read more