Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Hi July.

Hi July.

Thank you so much for sharing your inspiring story. As a grief facilitator I often hear very touching stories, but yours is particularly difficult in the sense that it involves forgiveness, a more than difficult step to reach in the search for unconditional love. If your journey has brought you there, then it shows that there are no empty gestures in life, and that the hardest lessons are often the most enriching for the soul.

Sincerely.

Pierre.                 

You have an interesting grief story? Share it with us.

Here's a beautiful story by Julie.

Hi Pierre
Thank you so much for this fascinating discussion. I would like to share my own experience of grief. For many years I have worked as a social worker with adults who have complex needs. My work and my family were how I identified myself, and when asked I would say..... I'm a social worker, I have a daughter, I'm in a long term relationship. In 2005 however, one of these things changed when my partner was brutally murdered and my world was turned upside down, I was completely devastated because like many others in the world, I had built my world around him. Shortly after my partner's death, I woke from my sleep having somehow made a decision that "life is very short and that from now on I would live it to the full". I know this sounds quite bizarre but it is exactly what happened. Some called it an impulse decision, some said I had gone into some kind of emotional breakdown, but for me it was a definite calling. In a very short time I handed in my notice at work after 19 years and purchased my ticket to India. My plan was to travel across the North learning about a different culture and in addition I had always wanted to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama who currently lives in Dharamsala. When I reached Dharamsala however, my life completely path took a strange direction, and I began working with Tibetan refugees who had endured years of torture under the oppressive communist regime and I began doing volunteer Human Rights work. In addition to this, I encountered some very deep spiritual experiences which subsequently led me to being introduced to a Geshe (High Tibetan Monk) who went on to become my lifelong teacher in Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhist practice. Strangely my teacher lived in the Home of His Holiness The Dalai Lama and therefore I got to glimpse him regularly. I spent many months in India and Looking back, I now realize that before the death of my partner, I had identified myself on what I did and what I liked. When one of those things was removed from my life, I was left wondering who am I now? For me personally, I had to go to the other side of the world to truly work through my grief, however by learning how to truly live my life not in the past but in the here and now, I was able to flourish spiritually, physically and mentally as a person. As a result of this experience, I have been able to find compassion and forgiveness for the person who murdered my partner and we are planned to meet for the first time in a few weeks. This is my story and I am sure that there are many others, thank you so much again for this amazing opportunity to share.