Can I Talk About Grief on Social Media?

I was scrolling through my instagram the other day, when I came across an absolutely gorgeous picture of one of my dear friends. Looking at her smiling face, set in front of a beautiful backdrop, it suddenly dawned on me that, though she and I have helped each other through similarly traumatic life experiences, she rarely posts publicly about her personal life. Her feed is mostly exciting images of her recent adventures, and she looks lovely and happy in all of them. I got so insanely jealous.

This realization that our feeds are so different from each others’ made me feel embarrassed and ashamed. Continue reading “Can I Talk About Grief on Social Media?” →

What Death Teaches About Time- It’s Limited.

As August began, I found myself wondering where this year had gone. It still felt as if it was only just starting! How were we already almost ⅔ of the way through?! And then I brushed that thought away because there were like a gazillion memes to back up my disbelief. We’re all wondering the same thing.

But then, last night, I came across a picture from January on my phone. My mind exploded a little bit, because it hit me just how long ago January actually was. My brain had a hard time taking stock of all that has happened so far this year- I’ve left jobs, started jobs, and then left more jobs, changed my hair, gained weight, lost weight, started this project, bounced from state to state…. so how could my consciousness have rejected all that passing of time that has been going on? How has it held fast to this idea of… new beginnings? Of fresh opportunity? That I had plenty of time to do right by 2018?

Continue reading “What Death Teaches About Time- It’s Limited.” →

How Creativity Heals Grief

I hate when I realize I’ve been a hypocrite.

I was talking to a friend recently about her grief. (DISCLAIMER: I don’t go around only talking about this all the time- I promise grief doesn’t rule my life, nor am I obsessed! But I am honored that I’ve become someone people can go to for honest and open discussion about what it means to have lost. I consider it to a privilege to be approached so often by my loved ones. Anyhow, moving on!)

We were talking about her grief and, more specifically, what happens to our creative processes when we experience loss. She admitted that she had turned away from her creative pursuits- things that used to bring her joy and comfort. She loved to paint.

Continue reading “How Creativity Heals Grief” →