by Michelle Kolling, End of Life Doula, Grief Coach and Life Coach
Making Space for Grief (MSFG), Rein In Sarcoma’s grief support group, is one year old this month! Since July of last year, Making Space for Grief has been a special place for connection, reflection and honoring the healing journey for those learning to find a new way of living after the loss of a loved one.
Rein In Sarcoma started as a place where those dealing with sarcoma, a particularly rare form of cancer, could find each other, share their stories and experiences. It was in that same spirit that Making Space for Grief was born—to provide a place for grief and healing. We had 9 participants register from 7 different states. Losses included young children, adult children and spouses. Some were very early in their grief journey, while others shared perspectives after many years had passed.
Rein In Sarcoma started as a place where those dealing with sarcoma, a particularly rare form of cancer, could find each other, share their stories and experiences. It was in that same spirit that Making Space for Grief was born—to provide a place for grief and healing. We had 9 participants register from 7 different states. Losses included young children, adult children and spouses. Some were very early in their grief journey, while others shared perspectives after many years had passed.
As a facilitator, it is a unique honor to hold space for all the stories of love, grief and transformation. I am grateful to be able to witness growth that may be hard for those deep in grief to see in themselves. At the last MSFG meeting in June, those present were given the opportunity to reflect on specific feelings and behaviors and compare where they are now versus where they were when they began. It was a revealing and moving exercise.
In my own healing journey, I have learned that grief isn’t about “getting back to normal.” It is about learning how to be this new version of yourself in a world where you feel totally lost. It has been over 12 years since I lost my husband to Ewing Sarcoma. My own experience has shown me that it is possible to grow through grief and even thrive beyond it when you have support and intentionally make space for healing to happen.
Making Space for Grief will be taking a break for the summer. You are invited to continue making space for your healing in the meantime. No matter where you are in your grief journey, whether you’re in the first few months or years down the road, here are a few different ways you can invest in yourself:
- 1:1 Grief Coaching with me, Michelle Kolling, End of Life Doula, Certified Grief Educator, Certified Life Coach, where you will receive individualized, one-on-one support, addressing life, healing and starting over after losing your person. You will be taken care of while being walked through the process of finding who you are during a time when everything feels lost. Feel free to schedule a 60-minute Complimentary Session here.
- GEMS is a free resource from Brian Smith of the Grief2Growth podcast where he offers 4 things you can do each day to help move you from grief to joy.
- Tender Hearts is a community created and facilitated by David Kessler that provides weekly on-line support groups for specific types of loss including death of sibling, child or spouse, death by suicide or addiction, death by cancer, multiple losses and more.
Stay tuned to your inbox, this newsletter, and social media for a survey that will help us assess how Making Space for Grief can be even better in the future. We will also announce when registration will open for new sessions in the Fall.