In my work as a Bereavement Counselor and Grief Educator, I will often incorporate relevant Scripture readings, prayers, selected works of poetry, lyrics from beautiful music, provide opportunities for each person in our group to have their grief witnessed and validated, and I even use film clips that can help elicit the wide range of emotions that often surface in grief. Releasing those feelings helps facilitate the healing that is possible after losing a loved one. And in my work as an Executive, Career, and Life Coach, there are many other micro griefs that often surface during a coaching engagement like the loss of a job, divorce, separation from children, a major change in personal and/or work relationships, relocation, personal injury and health concerns, and the transition to retirement in the fourth quarter of one’s life.
I will often share the poem “Along the Road” above by Robert Browning Hamilton with my clients because it has helped me in my own grief journey by inviting each of us to answer that important question of whether we learn more from sorrowful moments in life or the joyful moments? Reflecting deeply on that question can often provide a roadmap for the healing process to begin. While I have had my own share of sorrowful moments and significant loss in my life, I have also learned so much about myself and others by working and walking with people in grief. The sharing and the support that people provide to one another in grief humanizes you in a way I never could have imagined or appreciated.
So how about for you? What have you learned from having “walked a mile with sorrow” during the challenging moments of your life? Have you learned more about yourself and the world around you in those sorrowful moments or in the joyful moments?
Wishing my clients, fellow coaches, colleagues, and friends the gift of God’s abundant blessings, Dr. K
#griefcoach #bereavementsupport #spiritualcoaching
