You’re not meant to grieve alone.
Join me this fall for these special events.
I’m excited to be part of two special gatherings this fall which together reflect the twin passions of my life and work—grief tending and creative practice. First, I’ll be showing my textile art as part of the Austin Studio Tour taking place the second and third weekends in November. And on November 16th, I’ll co-lead a Community Grief Ritual.
We all need care. When you watch over a pot of simmering soup, you tend. When you cultivate a garden, you tend to plants. When you tend to someone who’s sick, you sit by their side. Grief tending is gentle, non-interventional, and led by the arising needs and experience of the grieving person. Grief tending is fostering a place and time in which you can feel safe to grieve in your own way and in your own time with an experienced guide. When your grief is well-tended, you feel heard, able to ride grief’s waves, and eventually open to the positive transformation that sorrow invites.
Some people who work with grieving people call themselves “grief coaches.” But the role of a coach is to bring out the best in people. Frankly, we are not at our best when we are grieving—and we don’t need to be! I like that the word “tend” comes from the idea of stretching, as in reaching out one’s hand.
What is grief tending?
Take care of your sorrow.
Your grief is precious. Your loss deserves witnessing and acknowledgment—whether it’s the death of a loved one, loss of a relationship or pet, ancestral wounds, worry for our planet, or life’s many disappointments. Our culture tells us to “hurry up and grieve,” but our bodies and souls tell us differently. Let me show you gentle ways to weather loss and embrace joy again.