Joy Beyond Grief
Grief is so very painful, it is also an opportunity to grow when you understand how to journey through your grief.
IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY LATE HUSBAND - Christopher Jacobs
Christopher took this beautiful picture - I just had to share it!
‘‘Grief changes us - the pain sculpts us into someone who understands more deeply, hurts more often, appreciates more quickly, cries more easily, hopes more desperately and loves more openly.’’
— Author Unknown
I help those lost or stuck in their suffering from loss of a loved one, to heal through the pain, so they have the courage and strength to go on and live a whole, happy life.
I help those suffering from the loss of a loved one, heal and grow through their grief so they have the strength to feel whole again.
“Let grief find the freedom to be expressed. Let grief find the right to be understood.”
— Kei Gilbert
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH GRIEF
I was sound asleep in bed with my husband of 23 years. I woke up suddenly to a jolt against my side and saw my husband’s pupils fully dilated while he gasped for air. I desperately performed CPR. Seconds later, he took his last breath.
My world came crashing down around me. Everything now fell on my shoulders.
I wasn’t just shattered, I was terrified. The same thoughts constantly ran through my mind, “I can’t do this. I’m not good enough. I’m not strong enough. I’m not smart enough.”
I had no idea who I was without my husband.
7 months later my mom died from a terminal diagnosis.
I cycled between intense pain and numbness and became a shell of who I had known myself to be.
I knew I had hit rock bottom after entering a new relationship that became destructive to both me and my four children.
One day, shame ripped open my heart until I knew I had to mend the broken pieces of our shattered family. To do that I had to change the way I was thinking and acting.
I found a therapist and coach and dove into my own healing. Then, something unexpected started to happen. I became curious about myself, who I was and what I was here for.
One chilly January day I found myself on my kitchen floor with my hands covered in lemon scented dish soap, weeping like I had never wept before.
I wanted to shut it off, get up, and walk away, but a voice inside said, “Stay. Just stay. You need to feel it all the way through.”
Then, in my mind’s eye, I saw a doorway. I knew it was the doorway of my grief and that I needed to walk through it.
So, I did.
Until finally, after at least an hour of sobbing, I had crossed through to the other side.
When there were no more tears left to cry, I got up. I felt stronger and lighter all at the same time. I learned something that day. When faced with that intense emotional pain, one needs to move through it, and fully feel it in order to let it go.
Grief is a universal yet personal experience. It can pull the rug right out from under us and keep us feeling lost, stuck, or feeling hopeless for years.
Grief can also offer unimaginable gifts of transformation.
My grief experience created space for me to truly know & love myself, free myself from a lifetime of limiting beliefs, and discover my true calling.
I finally found the courage to step into my dream of becoming a coach. This led me to the amazing work of Marisa Peer and my decision to become a Rapid Transformational Therapist. This is where I learned that our actions stem from our beliefs and discovered how to harness the power of our thoughts, so they work for us and not against us.
It’s my deep honor to now support you to harness the power of your mind, nurture the call of your heart, and walk through the doorway of your grief and discover yourself on the other side.