February 26, 2020
How to Make Grief Visible – Tattoos and Other Ideas
As tattoos have moved from the purview of sailors and subcultures like bikers into the mainstream, memorial tattoos have become more and more common. If you are considering commemorating the life of your loved one in a permanent way, you have probably already taken a lot of time to plan the design and decide where you want to place it on your body. There is significant healing to be found through the process of visible
January 13, 2020
Supporting the Grieving Following a Tragedy
The grief that occurs when there has been a tragedy can be so complicated. For the families directly involved, the emotions are overwhelming. Not only are they trying to cope with the fact that a loved one has died, there is so much to comprehend about “why” or “how” could this tragedy could have occured. Even the way they find out their loved one has died is overwhelming. Some find out because a police man
November 11, 2019
How Are Poppies a Sign of Mourning?
Have you been wearing a poppy? Lots of people in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK pin a poppy over their hearts in the weeks before Remembrance Day, do you? This tradition stems from the poem In Flanders Fields with its imagery of poppies blowing between the tombstone crosses in a World War I graveyard. What’s your reason for wearing a poppy? Maybe you want to support the work of the Legion
Are you ready for Halloween? In Canada and the US, we celebrate the occasion with costumes and candy, haunted houses and scary movies. You might be wondering what is has to do with mourning or remembrance-it’s a silly fun holiday for kids. But it isn’t celebrated in the same way everywhere. The word Halloween comes from a contraction of All Hallows’ Eve, and in many cultures the focus is on honouring people who have died.
August 6, 2019
Is it OK to grieve when a celebrity dies?
As a woman of a certain age I, like many in my peer group, spent my formative Wednesday evenings glued to the TV, tuned into the trials and tribulations of the group of impossibly old-looking teenagers on Beverly Hills 90210. Dylan, played by Luke Perry, was my TV boyfriend. His non-threatening bad boy character spoke to my 14-year old heart. Fast forward many years, and my world was a bit turned upside down when I