Honor Your Grief

The Holiday Season every year brings its share of merriment, mirth, & grief.

It is a contradiction I have held & felt within me since I was a young child.

Although I never believed in Santa, nor am I Christian, I always enjoyed all the theatrics, colors, lights, smells, festivities, & of course, the gifts, time off from school, & visiting with family.

My main memories of Xmas are during the years when my Dad & I would go spend time with my Mom’s family - my aunt, cousins, & granddad. I had a blast. Their homes were always decorated so beautifully. There was always a feast. There was a sense of normalcy, & maternal energy (thank you, Aunt Bonnie!) that sometimes I longed for.

And - every year (as I was always an empath, long before I ever knew the word), I was aware that this was not a happy time for everyone. My brother’s mom, Eileen, was mourning family traumas & deaths that had happened around Xmas time, & would always get exceedingly drunk & cause multiple scenes, at home, & in public.

I knew that some people didn’t have families, they hated them, or they were alone. Some didn’t have homes, a warm meal, a place to lay their head. Some felt sad for losses unspoken. It always created a subtle undercurrent of guilt that mingled with my celebratory spirit. As I grew, I observed (or was victim to) a pattern of people having lost loved ones during this time of year who, like Eileen, became depressed, despondent, & even destructive or abusive, ruining the holidays for those around them.

I also felt a disconnect between what folks *said* was the reason for the season, how I witnessed its celebration, the rampant commercialism, & what my intuition told me. As I grew, I came to understand the connection between the Solstice, the sun stationing for three days & nights, & on the 25th, beginning to rise again, the daylight growing.

These feelings of contradiction, & my empathy for those who may not LOVE the holidays, are what compelled me to create my gathering Honor Your Grief.

There are many reasons one might be grieving at this time of year, in part, even just feeling the contrast of this heightened expectation to be joyous with the fact there is so much going on in the country & world that is truly fucked up!

But! Grief is inconvenient. Often things happen in our lives that don't receive the time & honor, the Pause, that is deserved. Rarely, in our society, are we afforded the sacred space to mourn & grieve properly, so we can take time to feel the sorrow for What or Who we've lost, perhaps reach some resolve, & release it, with love. This theme of unresolved Grief can loom quite large, & I'm here to help you move through that.

In my special workshop that I aim to offer a few times a year, I am here to provide sacred space for you - to feel the feels, process your loss, explore & Honor Your Grief.

Meditation, sound healing, writing, drawing, a bit of energy work, & a ceremonial release, closing with a communal wisdom circle.

Begin to transmute your pain & lay to rest that which you cannot control - so that perhaps going forward the burden is lightened, or even lifted.

P.S. - If you’d like some regular support for your mental health, your spirit, your body, check out the Recalibrate Community.

We have a weekly Rhythm of Recalibration for mind, body, & soul (in Zoom, times are EST):

Astro-Meditation Mondays @ 12

Wednesday Alchemize & Flow @ 12

Sunday Soulful Village Vibes @ 6

+ for DC locals - Thursday night @ 7

Soundbath Journey & Expression Session