Unmasking the Lie: Embracing Grief, Joy, and the Fullness of the Human Experience

Perhaps isolation is an epidemic because we've been conditioned to think we are less than we are – that we and others don’t have the capacity to be with all that life brings. Love, loss, pain, and joy are all part of the human experience. But we’ve absorbed a lie that we and others can’t handle the complexity of life. This leads to hiding emotions, which keeps us segregated from ourselves and others. Isolation. I found out Chip died at midnight. By 7:00 am, 9 women were at my door ready to support me however possible. That afternoon, I could hear them huddled together, whispering. I yelled out, “Nothing about me without me!”. They were trying to help, but didn’t recognize that talking without me sent the message that I wasn’t able to be with my own life and denied me the community I needed for this desperate time. How have you experienced this in your own life - times when you or others have tried to "protect" someone from the full range of emotions? What could it look like to embrace the complexity of life's joys and sorrows together? What intimacy might this create? Because… “The way you see any individual in your mind is the best they can ever be in your presence.” - John Overdurf. In this episode, I share more stories and metaphors of how I’ve seen and experienced John’s words. Join the conversation on death, loss and grief as the Grief Heals substack: http://griefheals.substack.com