Moving Forward

I Want You To Be Happier

You know they want you to be happy – and with time and a lot of love and support, you’ll get there

What’s Inside

“I still miss those I loved who are no longer with me but I find I am grateful for having loved them. The gratitude has finally conquered the loss.” 

Rita Mae Brown, Starting From Scratch   

It’s hard to imagine, when loss first bursts into your house, that it won’t always have a seat at your table. But life always turns us to life; no-one can live in the valley of despair for long, for it’s not a life-giving place. So sooner or later, unaware or even dragged kicking and screaming, we find ourselves in the ‘light of a clear blue morning.’* 

We awake, amazed that grief no longer has its icy grip upon us. We remember our beloved with more smiles than tears. We look not only backward to remembered happiness, but forward to joys as yet unknown. Above all, we know that they wanted us to be happy, and realize that with some help, some time and a lot of effort on our part, we really are going to be OK. 

*  It’s been a long dark night
    And I’ve been a waitin’ for the morning
    It’s been a long hard fight
    But I see a brand new day a dawning
    I’ve been looking for the sunshine
    You know I ain’t seen it in so long
    But everything’s gonna work out just fine
    And everything’s gonna be all right
    That’s been all wrong

    ‘Cause I can see the light of a clear blue morning
    I can see the light of a brand new day
    I can see the light of a clear blue morning
    Oh, and everything’s gonna be all right
    It’s gonna be okay

– Dolly Parton, Light of a Clear Blue Morning

On The Way Reflections

The Bucket List

By Allison Barrett
Maybe you’re one of those people who’s always had their ‘eyes on the prize.’ Someone who plans ahead, makes lists, sets goals, thinks about the future, has a five- or ten-year plan and have been saving for your retirement since your first job. Perhaps you’re more of a ‘fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants’ type, someone who goes with the…
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A Word About Children

By Allison Barrett
The Widows’ Walk is designed to companion you on the path through widowhood and is not meant to be an exhaustive or even thorough resource on navigating sole parenting while bereaved. There are tons of resources* out there about that – books, websites, podcasts, children’s books – and of course, wonderful therapists and counsellors for…
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Close Ups and Mosaics

By widowadmin
I have a LOT of photographs in my house. Little ones, big ones, absolutely huge, life-sized ones – on the walls, on the fridge, on desks, stuck to computers, sitting on dressers in every room you can imagine (yes, even the bathroom!) I love art and I also appreciate the beauty of sunlight dappling a…
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Legacy

By widowadmin
On long road trips, Peter and I had a habit of poking through antique shops along the way. Sometimes we’d find a piece of china to match a partial set we had at home, or occasionally a perfect shelf for a bare spot on a wall. But no matter what we were looking for or…
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Loving and Being Loved

By widowadmin
If we are able to love at all, it’s because someone loved us first and showed us how. Maybe you were lucky enough to grow up in a loving family or perhaps you’ve had to gather your own ‘family’ of love and support along the way. But whether nurturing parents, interested and kind siblings, extended…
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Early Days

Feelings, responses and help in facing grief’s first difficult days (and nights!)

Explore Early Days
On the Way

Navigating the changes that loss and bereavement bring

Explore On the Way
Integration

Helping Love and Loss learn to
live side-by-side

Explore Integration
Moving Forward

Building joy and new life around the place that grief lives

Explore Moving Forward
Appendix

Rituals for Love, Loss and Remembrance

Explore Appendix