I have had the honour of supporting my Mum through to her end of life earlier this year, to her last breath. I am so grateful to have taken space to be engaged in this initiation. The initial phases of deep grief started well before she passed and will continue to teach me as I mindfully walk through life. Moving gently and slowly in these times where so much grief is tangible in our individual stories as well as in the collective experience that we are part of every moment. It can change us deeply whether we tend to it in the present moment or our losses from the past. I hope that from my process I am able to support others to enter the territory of grief more fully and to feel supported to move through these tender and complicated places.
It’s curious how from the dark, wild places of grief my relationship with living has taken on a quality and shine that has become more vibrant, new life growing from the depths of complexity of the human experience, of love and of grief. I don’t want to sugar coat this process, it is one of deep sorrow and I honour those feelings, yet nor do I want to negate the beauty within it, it is something we all face and it is completely unique to every one of us. This inevitable aspect of life is often quietly engaged in or avoided, often not granted much space by ourselves or our responsibilities and often experienced alone, for whatever reasons, of which there are many in our society. Yet it is deeply impactful to us all, in the moment and for the entirety of our lives it changes us and it connects us all.
The breath teaches us how to be in the present moment, when we consciously engage with it it can help us to access and engage and release emotions of all kinds. Joy and bliss are as welcome as sadness and anger, expanding to make room for it all. When we allow a little space, with intention, for whatever is ready to arise, then we can move into more of life in the present. To live well.
