Coping with Challenging Times - Face It!

With all of the craziness going on with the economy, the election and other dis ease in the world, many of us are understandably feeling uneasy. These are troubling and disturbing times.

Many people have experienced significant financial losses, job losses and other personal losses. It is hard to know what to do, where to turn or how thing will eventually turn out.

In the last couple of days I've started receiving emails in my boxes from people hoping to capitalize on these troubling times by selling their services to help people find comfort and calmness when they might be fearful, advice for what the most important thing is to do in the current economy and also to find ways of pinching pennies by purchasing their products.

I was glad to see Paul's weekly Ripples Newsletter arrive this morning as a splash of inspiration and hope to start the week. Paul offered some simple, helpful advice (for free) for coping with these challenging times.

Free advice and hope that didn't require a price tag to read it.

Thanks Paul!

Enjoy!

*************************

Ripples v10.41: Face It!

October 13, 2008: a free weekly splash to 21,410 subscribers from Paul & The Ripples Project


__PEBBLE _________________________________

Facing it, always facing it, that's the way to get through. Face it.
-Joseph Conrad, submitted by Lin H., Bloomington IL


__BOULDER _________________________________

Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
-Frank Herbert, submitted by Stephanie W., West Des Moines IA


__PONDER _________________________________

If you are feeling scared or bewildered or frustrated by the crazy events recently, you need to remember a few things:

1. You are not the only one.
2. Things will get better.
3. You can handle this.


Yes, you can. You can FACE IT just like you have dealt with other challenges in your life. And I have a sneaking suspicion that not only will you come out of this okay, you might even be stronger, smarter, and braver.


So put your game face on, and FACE IT!


Peace,
Paul


The Ripples Project

For More information about The Ripples Project, see their website.You can also sign up to join the more than 20,000 subscribers and get your own weekly dose of free inspiration.

Image Source: Martin Boulanger. Lyon 4. Royalty Free Use.

Earth Hour - Turn out the Lights on 3/29 Prevent the Loss of the Planet

I am taking a bit of a digression from the Normal Grief, Loss & Transitions postings to post a blog about Earth Hour, a Global Event on March 29 to raise awareness about Climate Change.

The topic of Climate Change does relate to this blog topic of Grief, Loss and Transitions. We are seeing a transition in the global climate, which may lead to a loss and grief of things we have previously taken for granted.

Do Something While We Still have a Chance
Al Gore's quotes from an Inconvenient Truth really got to me as a Mother of two young children:

Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves, "What were our parents thinking? Why didn't they wake up when they had a chance?"

We have to hear that question from them, now.

I want to make sure that my daughter's get to enjoy hiking and being out in nature the same way that I have been able to do.

Lights out on Earth Hour 2008, March 29
On March 29, 2008 at 8:00 pm millions of people, businesses and governments around the world will be switching off the lights for one hour during Earth Hour 2008.

I've been trying to spread the word and get people to sign up and turn off the lights on March 29 to do something good for the planet.

Earth Hour a simple one time act, but it's away of getting people, families, businesses and governments involved and thinking about Climate Change. Hopefully by raising awareness people will start doing other things in their daily lives to make a difference.

More Information:
You can read more about Earth Hour and more simple things you can do to make a difference in the various articles that I've posted on the topic on Squidoo, "Earth Hour 2008 on March 29, 2008 Turn off the Lights" on Type A Mom "Turn out the lights for Earth Hour March 29, 2008" on the Lensroll "Earth Hour 2008 - Turn out the Lights for One Hour" and on Momshare "Lights Out for Earth Hour on March 29, 2008 and for the Planet."

Sacred Life Sunday
This is a Celebrating Sacred Life Sundays Post, a weekly celebration of what is sacred and special in our life.

For me there is nothing more Sacred than ensuring my daughters get to enjoy hiking and being out in nature, something that I have done all of my life.

Resources:
Dyer KA. Earth Hour 2008 on March 29, 2008 Turn off the Lights. Squidoo.com
Dyer KA. Turn out the lights for Earth Hour March 29, 2008. Type-A Mom.
Dyer KA. Earth Hour 2008 - Turn out the Lights for One Hour. Lensroll.
Dyer KA. Lights Out for Earth Hour on March 29, 2008 and for the Planet. Momshare.

How to Write a Condolence Note or Send a Sympathy Card

Sending of sympathy cards links people together and reinforces a sense of community and solidarity in the wake of the calamity of death.

Charles Lippy
Sympathy Cards & the Grief Process

When to Send a Sympathy Card
There may be situations and circumstances when it is preferable to express your sympathy in a short condolence note or selecting sending a beautiful sympathy card to send with a note. Used correctly a Condolence Notes or Sympathy Cards is a way to quickly acknowledge a loss.

In these situations you can write a brief personal note on commercial condolence card or insert a brief hand-written note into a hand-crafted card. It is recommended that you follow up the short note with a condolence letter later.

Sending Sympathy Cards - Popular for Condolences in the U.S.
According to research by Hallmark, Americans send nearly 125 million sympathy cards annually. Sympathy cards are a simple gesture of support that provide meaning to both senders and receivers. Sympathy Cards and Condolence Notes are very popular in the United States more so than in other countries.

You can find out more about How to Write a Condolence Note in the article that I just recently published on the topic.

More Information:
Dyer K. 2008. How to Write a Condolence Note. Squidoo.com

Prior Blog Posts:
Dyer K. 2008. How to Write a Condolence Letter. Grief, Loss & Transitions Blog.

Image Source:
Elaine Broskie. Sympathy Card. Some Rights Reserved. Creative Commons.

Welcome to Grief, Loss & Transitions - the New Blog for Journey of Hearts

Welcome to the New Blog I am starting for visitors and supporters of the Journey of Hearts Website, the original online devoted to Grief and Loss developed by a physician.

Celebrating 10 Years of Service
This fall, Journey of Hearts celebrates our 10th anniversary of service to the grieving Internet Community. We will be updating and redesigning the site in celebration of our 10 years online.

With more than > 600 pages to convert, update and re-edit it will take some time, but we are optimistic that the new site will be available by the anniversary of our launch in October.

In the meantime, new information, articles and resources will be posted to this blog.

Grief, Loss & Transitions - The Journey of Hearts Blog
Much has changed in the 10 years Journey of Hearts has been online. Blogging or keeping a web log wasn't an option. Now blogging is an easy way of quickly updating visitors and providing useful information.

In addition to providing updates to the redesign of Journey of Hearts I also plan to provide information and resources for anyone grieving a loss and living through life transitions.

A Labor of Love - A Gift to the Grieving Internet Community
Since the beginning planning stages of the site in September 1997 to it's launch in October of that year, the Journey of Hearts site has been physically and financially maintained by Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer and her husband Cole D. Thompson.

The entire operating costs including the thousands of hours over the last 10 years to write, design, host and maintain the web resource have been donated.

From the beginning to 10 years later, Journey of Hearts has been a labor of love, created in my free time. Because of the continued messages and positive feedback on the site, we believe it is a resource that needs to continue.