LOST and FOUND
Lighting the way to help you find renewal from personal loss
Lighting the way to help you find renewal from personal loss
DO YOU NEED A HELPING HAND
ON YOUR
GRIEF JOURNEY?
ON YOUR
GRIEF JOURNEY?
If so, you have come to the right place for both practical and spiritual support from a widow who has taken her own grief journey. On that journey, I developed my own theory on grief, "The Pick Up Sticks Theory" (©2010, Ellen Gerst), which I explain in the following video.
If you have lost a loved one, you are about to, or have already started to, take the arduous journey of "picking of your stixs." This journey will require you to examine your very existence. It is hard for a person who has never lost a mate, or another loved one, to understand the depth to which your soul may sink. It is as if a part of you has been ripped away and kind and well-meaning words, thoughts and deeds will not help to lessen its intensity.
In fact, you may even shun them, for you want to feel the searing pain in your heart -- just so you know you can feel SOMETHING! What is hard to realize at the inception of your loss is that this will be a defining moment in your life. You will either DECIDE to just SURVIVE by going through the motions of life without the emotions, OR you will DECIDE to THRIVE.
In fact, you may even shun them, for you want to feel the searing pain in your heart -- just so you know you can feel SOMETHING! What is hard to realize at the inception of your loss is that this will be a defining moment in your life. You will either DECIDE to just SURVIVE by going through the motions of life without the emotions, OR you will DECIDE to THRIVE.
It is easy to cope when life is going smoothly, but as Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
THE DECISION IS YOURS. You can make a conscious decision to move forward through your grief journey in order to find a place of peace, acceptance, and personal renewal, or you can decide to stay stuck in sadness forever.
Please do not misinterpret my words. You should allow yourself to grieve for all that you have lost, including future joys that your loved one will be missing. However, over time you must learn to put your grief in perspective and let it work for you, rather than be its slave. It is not possible to go back in time before your loss. Your ultimate power lies in how you respond to the new circumstances of your life.
Love and Grief are two very potent emotions. They both have the ability to change a person's life forever. Due to your loss, you most probably have a renewed love and appreciation of your friends and family. I would like to suggest you build upon this foundation of rekindled awareness, and try to make each day going forward meaningful and full of love.
I have made my own grief journey and wish to offer you the benefit of my experiences, as well as my support. I believe when one is in need of support, he or she should take all that is offered -- even to the point of being greedy about it! Of course, when the crisis has passed and a person has started healing, I feel it is the moral obligation of that person to turn around and offer his or her hand to next person starting a similar journey. This is exactly what I am offering to you.
A Practical Guide to Widow/erhood was born from my personal experiences as a widow. It started out as a newsletter for widows and widowers and grew into a book. Read in totality, it addresses all the subjects I needed to figure out when my late husband passed away suddenly. Please go to the Meet the Author page for more information.
The book can lead you through the maze of the grief journey towards love and understanding with topics such as:
*How to Know When It Is Time To Put Away Your Wedding Rings
*How to Deal With Anniversary Dates and Other Holidays
*How To Reinvent Yourself: Finding the New You
*Tips For Coping
*The Author's Take On "Why Bad Things Happen To Good People"
*Conquering Finances and Investing For The Future
*Book Reviews
*Time Management
*Readjusting the Picture of Your Late Spouse
*What To Do With a Loved One's Clothes
*Job Hunting Tips and How To Write a Resume
*Personal Stories of Widows and Widowers
*Practical Matters: Quick & Easy Recipes For
One Person Doing The Job of Two
I learned how to be a "thriver" instead of a "survivor" and would like to help you to do the same.
Love and Grief are two very potent emotions. They both have the ability to change a person's life forever. Due to your loss, you most probably have a renewed love and appreciation of your friends and family. I would like to suggest you build upon this foundation of rekindled awareness, and try to make each day going forward meaningful and full of love.
I have made my own grief journey and wish to offer you the benefit of my experiences, as well as my support. I believe when one is in need of support, he or she should take all that is offered -- even to the point of being greedy about it! Of course, when the crisis has passed and a person has started healing, I feel it is the moral obligation of that person to turn around and offer his or her hand to next person starting a similar journey. This is exactly what I am offering to you.
A Practical Guide to Widow/erhood was born from my personal experiences as a widow. It started out as a newsletter for widows and widowers and grew into a book. Read in totality, it addresses all the subjects I needed to figure out when my late husband passed away suddenly. Please go to the Meet the Author page for more information.
The book can lead you through the maze of the grief journey towards love and understanding with topics such as:
*How to Know When It Is Time To Put Away Your Wedding Rings
*How to Deal With Anniversary Dates and Other Holidays
*How To Reinvent Yourself: Finding the New You
*Tips For Coping
*The Author's Take On "Why Bad Things Happen To Good People"
*Conquering Finances and Investing For The Future
*Book Reviews
*Time Management
*Readjusting the Picture of Your Late Spouse
*What To Do With a Loved One's Clothes
*Job Hunting Tips and How To Write a Resume
*Personal Stories of Widows and Widowers
*Practical Matters: Quick & Easy Recipes For
One Person Doing The Job of Two
I learned how to be a "thriver" instead of a "survivor" and would like to help you to do the same.
If you are far enough along on your grief journey that you are starting to think about finding new love, read how to do that in a healthy and successful manner.
To purchase Love After Loss, click here.
To read an excerpt from Love After Loss, click here.
To purchase Love After Loss, click here.
To read an excerpt from Love After Loss, click here.
So grab hold of my hand, and let me lend you my support born from experience. And when you find yourself further down the road, perhaps you will be in a position to do the same for another. Just imagine if everyone put out his or her hand
to help the next person starting on this journey,
then the whole world could eventually be holding hands.
Wouldn't that be a beautiful place in which to live!
