New Ground

Our lives shift when a big loss happens. Things go along smoothly, then ‘BANG!’, something occurs, and our lives change drastically, and our perceptions shift. Hurt feelings can help us see things with new eyes. When we ‘lose’ someone or something important to us, we feel an emptiness and sadness inside. Sometimes we act brave for the people around us, and we need to give ourselves permission to cry, express anger, and grieve our losses. It’s okay to feel ‘not-okay’! Crying is a healthy way to release pent-up stress, fear, loneliness, and sadness. If we allow others, especially children, to see our sadness, we give them permission to express theirs too. NEW GROUND The leaf falls from the tree. E The sap runs deep. B7 Snow in the winter E Covers seeds that sleep. B7 Sun melts the ice, E And the warm Earth gives B7 Water to the sprouts E And the green world lives. B7-E Cho: Watch for a sign. A-B7 Keep your heart alive. E-C#m The spirit breaks new ground A-B-C#m Whenever something dies. E-B7-E Watch the shadows closely, A-B7 The tears will clean your eyes E-C#m The spirit breaks new ground A-B-C#m Whenever something dies. E-B7-E Instrumental E-F#m7-G#m6-F#m7 You may have lost a toy You may have lost a dream You may have lost a friend Someone who you need. Your chest can feel the pain That makes it hard to breathe, But your love will always stay And the pain will leave. Cho: Watch for a sign Keep your heart alive The spirit breaks new ground Whenever something dies. Watch the shadows closely, The tears will clean your eyes. The spirit breaks new ground Whenever something dies. Written by Peter Alsop, ©1987, Moose School Music (BMI) On ‘In The Hospital’ & ‘Songs On Loss & Grief’ www.peteralsop.com The opposite of ‘love’ is not ‘hate’, but fear. When we’re afraid, our fears cripple our ability to help our loved ones who are experiencing a loss. The comfort of a warm touch, or of listening silently to them are some of the most valuable things we can do when someone is sad. Here are some exercises I’ve used when working with kids. - Take a seed out of the next piece of fruit that you eat and plant it in some dirt, about two inches under the surface. Water it and keep the soil moist, but not soggy, then watch for what comes up! Ask a parent or grandparent to plant a small garden with you. Ask them if they ever knew anyone who died or left them, and what they did to adjust to the changes. Draw a picture of how you felt when you really missed someone. Illustration by Terri Asher - (colored in by Peter!) And here are some simple questions to ask others, … and ourselves! ( Make sure we ‘really listen’ to the ‘answers’!) Did you ever lose something or someone that you really liked or loved? How did your heart and chest feel when you thought about it? Have you ever grown too big to wear a favorite article of clothing? Was it hard to watch your younger brotheror sister wear it? Why? Have you ever had to move away from some place or someone you loved? Was there anything that made the pain of leaving go away? What? Have you ever had friends or family members move away from you? What did you do to take care of your feelings? Do you know a person or an animal who died? Were you sad? Did you cry about missing them? What things did you miss? Do you still need to do some crying now about something you lost? Can you find a safe place to cry? Do you know someone who you feel safe to cry with? How do you know when someone else feels ‘safe’ for you? Grief can cause sensations of physical pain, difficulty in breathing, depression, and loss of appetite. When we discuss past losses with our friends and loved ones, painful feelings are acknowledged and expressed, and we discover that ‘new sprouts’ of hope start to appear. Unexpected strength, wisdom, compassion, insight, and acceptance can grow out of loss experiences. Watch for a sign. Keep your heart alive! Peter Alsop’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. If you’re not a Subscriber please click the Subscribe button. It’s free! You can always reach me at [email protected], and you don’t have to be a ‘paid’ subscriber to get my posts. All my posts are always public! Everyone gets ‘em, … some folks send in money to support my work, which I greatly appreciate, but in either case, I’m glad you’re here! (If you run into a request to pay something from Substack, … you can just ‘click on’ past it!) I’d also appreciate it if you would take a minute to ‘spread the word’ and share my Substack posts with your friends, family or anyone who you think might like to hear some of the information I pass on through my songs and stories. Feel free to check out any of my past posts that you haven’t seen yet, and please ‘Re-stack’ them if you think others might like to discover my work. They’re all here! Thanks for your support! Bye for now! Peter Check out my audio podcasts here: Peter Alsop’s SONGS TO CHEW And you can find my CDs, DVDs & Songbooks at: Bandcamp.com. I’d love to hear from you! Please send comments or ask questions! LIKE COMMENT RESTACK Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe