A season of grief + comfort.

This season has been hard.

If I am being honest, a lot of this year has been hard.

I have navigated grief in different ways this year, and have come to meet deep wounds I didn’t realize were still leading me.

Grief has this way of swooping in, often unexpectedly.

It may be incognito at first, a slight tug of the heart, a passing memory, a dip in energy.

Until it comes in, crashing your party and inner harmony, weighing down your heart, gasping for air and remembrance of where you are right this moment.

The waves of grief have been on my heart often this year,

💚 A fleeting memory of years ago with a dear friend who is no longer with us, celebrating Christmas, drinking pomegranate martinis at Bonefish, and enjoying apps and each other’s company.

💚Dreams of my brother and missing him deeply, remembering Christmas many, many years ago, when we would lay under the tree in the dark and gaze up at the magic of the vibrant twinkle lights, eyes aglow with excitement and joy.

💚My parents and their move to Myrtle Beach this past January, and how lonely it has felt not having the support and love (in the same zip code!) of the family I was born into.

💚 The loss of two of my uncles, about six months apart, and witnessing each of my parents going through the experience of losing a brother, bringing back memories of the day I lost mine within.

Yet in this moment, I know I am not alone.

Many I know are experiencing fresh grief with the loss of loved ones, especially during another pandemic holiday season, which also may be causing many of us to grieve our hopes of freedom, of new normalcy, of health , of togetherness.

The way we celebrate family traditions has been turned upside down again this year.

With the majority of this year, continuing to challenge what we once knew, and dancing with new ways to embrace life.

Wherever you are, I see you.
Whatever you feel, I honor you.
Whatever the situation, I love you.
It is all valid.

I desire for you to know how safe you are to be feeling this way and to remind you that it is also ok to not be experiencing this overwhelm of emotions.

I stand before you as sharing my truth, my emotions, of knowing how it all matters and is ok and safe for me to do so.

I stand before you that you do not always need to be “on”, happy, or in joy.

I stand before you as someone who knows this is an emotional wave, and tomorrow, may look and feel different.

I stand before you that you can be experiencing an emotional low yet also feel enormous gratitude for this life, for the experiences you have, the beauty and wonder you have, all that is to be celebrated.

I stand before you as a living breathing embodiment of the deep inner work that is ongoing, yet has also changed my life in such extraordinary and beautiful ways.

I stand before you.
I stand with you.

Together, we stand.

Xoxo,
Teri

P.S. This is a reminder of permission.

A reminder for compassion, both to ourselves and others.

A reminder of our human.

A reminder that feeling is ESSENTIAL, even the lower vibrational ones.

A reminder that our truth can set us free.

A reminder that raw truth, vulnerability and the less than perfect selfie for social media means more ❤️

A reminder that love leads always, even when we are grieving ❤️

A reminder that how I navigate grief and sadness may not be the way you do, and that is ok.

A reminder for us to BE in this moment.
All of you.
As you are.

P.P.S. And a reminder to buy the plaid Santa hat if that is bringing you comfort in the moment this season too ❤️

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