Our hearts can be heavy over the devastation caused by the fires, floods and other natural disasters. So many people deal with not only the loss of homes, businesses, and belongings, but also grief caused by the tragic loss of loved ones. At times like these it's so nice to be part of a supportive community, so I’d like to share a message I saw online from best-selling author Kris Carr about how to handle grief, which is the subject of her new book, I’m Not a Mourning Person. I hope this brings you some comfort.
“Today I want to talk about caring for your spirit and developing faith. Perhaps you were raised with a strong faith, or you had more of a creative, free-range childhood that sparked lots of questions, like mine. Either way, if you’ve ever felt like an oddball, skeptic, or spiritual misfit (more wood nymph, less devout), you’re not alone.
Here’s my advice to us: Stay Wild.
Staying wild means trusting your innate instincts and developing your intuition—the intelligence of your heart. Honoring your deep sensitivity and empathic abilities—your gift for reading and feeling energy. Regularly restoring and recharging yourself in nature and with animals. Staying open and receptive to the seen and unseen love that’s ever present from many sources. And knowing that what you believe or don’t believe has no bearing on who you are. Judgment is an overused human construct. We’re all doing the best we can.
Staying wild also means turning your life into a treasure hunt. Look for signs each day of the ways you are being offered love, joy, peace, and reassurance. Be specific. Right after my father died, my sign was red roses. In fact, on Valentine’s day of 2021, a few days after his passing, my mom and I took a long walk on a nearby beach. As we walked out further, arriving at the place where nothing but our grief existed, I saw it. “Oh my God, Mom. Look straight ahead!” There in the distance were two long-stem red roses standing at attention in the sand. One for each of us. He’s still here, I thought. He’s still here. Look for how you’ve grown during this time, how your heart has expanded, and your wisdom has enriched you. Look for the continuity of the love. Stay wild. Keep searching for signs and say a silent Thank you whenever you see them.”
I agree with Kris’s advice here about looking for signs from those close to you that have passed, as I did the same for my grandmother. Purple was her favorite colour and shortly after she passed, I would see purple flowers everywhere I looked. On the train going to work there would be purple flowers along the tracks, in fields, gardens where I walk. I had so many profound experiences seeing purple flowers even in unusual places right when I was thinking about my grandmother or missing her. To this day, when I’m thinking of my grandmother or asking her for advice (which is fairly often), I still see these signs. So, I guess what I am saying is take Kris’s advice and “stay wild.”
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