Significant Quotes

[enna]

Tools for Healing is a good place to start...it's never a straight line

[kayc]

For sure!  Three steps forward, two steps backward, but overall moving in an upward fashion.

[MartyT]

This was posted today on Lynda Cheldelyn Fell's Facebook page. What she has to say about giving so impressed me that I want to share it with all of us here. 

(Lynda is one who walks the walk with us. She is a bereaved mom, creator of the award-winning Grief Diaries and bestselling author of over 25 books on healing and hope.) 

The other day I was asked why I advocate for the bereaved
to give to others as a way to heal.
In the midst of autopilot, brain fog,
and feeling utterly depleted before even getting out of bed,
most have nothing left to give.

So here's my explanation on why giving is good for the giver.

When one suffers a broken leg, it takes time for the body to heal.
The fracture will always be there because once done, it can't be undone,
but strengthening the muscles and tissue around the break
will help protect from further damage and promote healing.

Just like physical therapy is to broken bones,
giving while grieving is therapy for the broken heart.
It releases powerful dopamine and endorphins—a natural high,
which are like little happy pills for brain pain.
It's also good for our body by reducing common grief banes—
stress, anxiety and insomnia.

Does giving cure grief? No.
Losing someone we love causes grief that cannot be undone.
It is something we learn to live with moving forward.
But we can soothe the rawness
and strengthen the areas around the wound—
our broken heart—
through activities and actions such as giving.

What can you give when you feel empty inside?
Give blood. Give a smile. Give a genuine compliment.
Give blessing bags to the homeless.
Give a car room to merge during rush hour.
Give time at a homeless shelter,
which serves as a powerful reminder
that we're not alone on the struggle bus.
Give a hug.

Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get.
We make a life by what we give.”
In other words, helping others helps our own heart to heal.
It truly does.

XOXO

[Source: https://www.facebook.com/lynda.cheldelin.fell]

[MartyT]