DECEMBER 2023
LIFE | LOVE | LOSS
“Remember this December, that love weighs more than gold.”
-Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon
MIND STRETCHING
“The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.”
-Albert Einstein
As we close yet another year looking back to reflect on what was before we glance anew at what might be we often reminisce with a critical lens on our choices, accomplishments, or lack thereof. I invite you to look back over this year with love, rose tinted glass on all you DID do, all the lessons you learned, the love you gave, the laughter you shared. Where you might look to find fault instead apply learning. Do you want to edit something? Are there some changes that in another year’s purview you want to have something else to look back on? If so, make the edit. That’s all. Learn, grow, apologize if a circumstance needs that. Then do more, do better, make a new choice that makes you feel good about who you are.
Stretch your mind and heart! I read this article from a Daily OM Inspiration site I subscribed to that talks about stretching our minds like we do our bodies. I love this concept. I am an avid reader. I honestly do not know how to use the remote at our house. I over buy and have stacks of books real and on my Kindle that I am reading all the time. I love to take mental vacations, learn new things, think about, and view the world through other perspectives. I feel my mind stretching each new book I read, I love it! Below are the thoughts shared in this article. I invite you to close this year with a mind flex. Think and feel things in a new way! Allow yourself to stretch inviting flexibility where you might have once been rigid. See how this feels!
| “Having a flexible mind makes navigating life much easier, as you are not thrown off course easily. Flexibility is the capacity to bend without breaking, as well as a continual willingness to change or be changed in order to accommodate new circumstances. People with flexible minds are open to shifting their course when necessary or useful; they are not overly attached to things going the way they had planned. This enables them to take advantage of opportunities that a more rigid person would miss out on. It can also make life a lot more fun. When we are flexible, we allow for situations we could not have planned, and so the world continues to surprise and delight us. Since reality is in a constant state of flux, it doesn’t make sense to be rigid or to cling to any one idea of what is happening or what is going to happen. We are more in tune with reality when we are flexible. Being in tune enables us to adjust to the external environment and other people as they change and grow. When we are rigid or stuck in our ways, instead of adjusting to the world around us we hunker down, clinging to a concept of reality rather than reality itself. When we do this, we cut ourselves off from life, and we miss out on valuable opportunities, as well as a lot of joy. Just as we create flexibility in our bodies by stretching physically, we can create limberness in our minds by stretching mentally. Every day we have the opportunity to exercise our flexibility. We can do this in small ways such as taking a different route home from work or changing our exercise routine. On a larger scale, we can rearrange the furniture or redo a room in our house. If these are things we already do regularly, we can stretch our minds by imagining several different possibilities for how the next year will unfold. As we do this, our minds become more supple and open, and when changes come our way, we are able to accommodate and flow with the new reality.” |
-today@dailyom.com
Remember there can be room for joy and pain to co-exist during the holidays. Let yourself set boundaries if you are not feeling festive. It’s ok to say no to big gatherings if that make you feel anxious and overwhelmed.
It’s also important to connect and be with others. Be sure to find the balance that is right for you. Make sure you take care of you. Grief is your own journey. Let others in by sharing what you are thinking and feeling. Find those you trust to share your deepest hurts with. This can bring great peace and help honor those you lost and who you are missing.
I miss my Joey so much. I want to buy him things for Christmas so I find others in need who I can give too in his name. This brings a measure of comfort to my aching heart. I have people over and prepare too much food on purpose. He loved to eat. I miss being able to feed him so I cook too much and buy Tupperware so those who come can take leftovers and enjoy the food twice. He would write his name on leftovers in the fridge and threaten those who dared eat his!
Create ways to honor who you have lost. Laugh, cry, share, speak their names! Let your love shine through your tears and live through your actions in their honor. This is how you keep your love for them alive!
All my best,
Genna
RESOURCES
988 – National Mental Health Hotline
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988
Crisis Hotlines: Common Hotline Phone Numbers | Eluna Network
Mental Health App’s
Talkspace – Best Overall Therapy App
Calm – Best Mindfulness App
My3 – Three People / Three Distractions / Safety Plan App
Chopra App – Great mindfulness and free meditations
Pride Counseling – Best Queer Mental Health App
Youper – Best Self-Guided Therapy App
Headspace – Best Anxiety App
UTAH VISION DAY
RAISING AWARENESS FOR MENTAL HEALTH & SUICIDE PREVENTION
This is the main fundraiser for the Taylor Hagen Memorial Foundation to fund programs and retreats all year.
Bereaved Mother’s Retreat’s
Bereaved Mother’s Retreat’s sponsored by Cristie North of Taylor Hagen Memorial Foundation and Leigh Anne Garcia of Andrew Garcia Memorial Foundation.
2024 Dates:
TBD
Visit www.thmemorialfoundation.org or email cristie@thmemorialfoundation.org
LOTUS
You are invited to join LOTUS for our Psychic Fair first Saturday of every Month
Multiple Reader/Healers at Lotus doing mini sessions at $15
LOTUS
12896 S Pony Express Rd Ste 200
Draper, UT 84020
SUPPORT
Mental Health Urgent Care
https://mentalhealthurgentcare.com/
Live On Utah
Caring Connections
SLC, Midvale & Orem
www.nursing.utah.edu/caring-connections
801-585-9522
What’s Your Grief?
A website about grief & loss & ways to cope.
The Sharing Place
Support for families and children 3 ½ and up.
801-466-6730
Canary Garden
Helping children in their grief process.
801-960-2684
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Crisis Text Line
Text TALK to 741741
SafeUT Crisis & Chat App
The SafeUT Crisis Chat and Tip Line is a statewide service that provides real-time crisis intervention to youth through live chat and a confidential tip program – right from your smartphone.
Licensed clinicians in our 24/7 CrisisLine call center respond to all incoming chats and calls by providing:
supportive or crisis counseling, suicide prevention, and referral services.
The Next Adventure 