Final Kindness

11/05/2025

Say Hello 👋 and give that hug 🤗

10/31/2025

Grief Is Weirdly Physical

No one tells you that your body signs up for the full experience of grief, no questions asked.

Your throat tightens at random times, like it’s trying to stop tears from leaking out.

Your shoulders creep up toward your ears; your stomach forgets how to digest food and even breathing feels like work.

And sleep is the worst coworker…always on break when you need it most.

Then there are these strange bursts of energy, almost like your body gets tired of being sad and starts rebelling. Suddenly, you’re deep-cleaning the kitchen at midnight or deciding that now is the perfect time to reorganize your sock drawer.

Grief turns into this unpredictable blend of exhaustion and adrenaline, like running a marathon without knowing where the finish line is.

Food becomes its own saga. Some days you can’t swallow a thing, and other days you act personally responsible for keeping the local bakery in business.

Your body doesn’t know how to process loss, so it tries everything, crying, sleeping, walking, eating, not eating, staring at the ceiling for three hours straight.

Here’s the thing…the strange grace of it all is even when your body aches, it keeps going.

It keeps breathing for you when you forget to. It gets you out of bed, holds you upright, carries you through the heaviness. Grief lives in your muscles and bones, but so does survival.

So if you’ve wondered why your back hurts, why your heart feels heavy, or why you find yourself sobbing next to the bananas at the grocery store, please know this is all part of it.

You’re not broken.

You’re just doing the emotional equivalent of working out at the gym.

And honestly…you deserve a medal just for showing up at all.

Gary Sturgis

10/24/2025

The second year of grief can feel more isolating.

Let’s put words to it.

10/15/2025

Explore your grief through art. Four sessions. Register with Hospice Hub.

08/15/2025

Thank you Martha for being a part of our death doula class with Olga.

You do great work that is needed.

Friends, give this a watch and let’s talk about what is happening.

A Death Doula’s Guide to Consciousness After Death with Mayim & JonathanIn this powerful and emotional Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown episode, licensed end-of-life...

08/15/2025

If grief heals in time please tell me which day that is and I will go there.

Time. Such a delicate and fierce thing when it comes to loss and grief.

People will tell you that time heals all wounds. That it will soften the grief you carry. People will tell you that time will ease the pain.

Nothing is absolute or black and white when it comes to grief. It's not linear and everyone's journey will look different. Time doesn't necessarily heal ALL wounds and while I do believe that time does help people to adapt to loss and learn to integrate it into their lives, time can be challenging for someone who is grieving a devastating loss.

People often fail to understand that time doesn't slow life down and that with each passing day, time carries the grieving further away from the last time they saw their loved ones. Further away from the last conversation, the last "I love you" and the last hug. Further away from the day a griever was forced to say goodbye to someone who mattered and someone they will miss for the rest of their lives.

That's a painful reality to absorb and accept. Time is tricky when it comes to grief but this much I have learned - it's not about time itself. It's about what you do with that time. It's how you show up for yourself and your grief every day.

Time won't wait for you but you can move forward with it even when carrying grief. You can empower yourself to take control of your grief when ready, and walk with it instead of pushing it away.

Grief was never meant to be hidden away or suppressed. Grief needs to be expressed, seen, and heard. It needs to be tended to.

Give yourself permission to grieve. To feel. To express. Honor your grief. Find a safe space where you can be honest and talk about it. Say your loved one's name. Tell their story. Be the best of who they were. Find ways to live well and grieve well as you carry their legacy forward.

Listen to your body, mind, and spirit. What does it need from you today? What does your grief need from you?

This is where healing can begin.

With love - michele

08/15/2025

This is meditation in the moment.

Often, when we’re in the flow, it feels like nothing at all—effortless, unforced. Time disappears. Several hours may have passed, but it feels like twenty minutes. (By the way, in that state, you have only aged twenty minutes.) Everything falls into place. And if it doesn't, then that is its place! Happiness settles, calm rises, and balance is natural.

08/15/2025

Where do you go to breathe?

Among the trees, I always feel at ease. Their ancient trunks stand as silent witnesses to time, their leaves whisper stories only the heart can hear. In their shade, the world’s noise softens, and a calmness settles deep within me, a gentle reminder that, no matter how tangled life becomes, there is a place where I can breathe, find peace, and simply be.

~ 'Just Breathe' by The Garden Of Pensiveness

✍️ Mary Anne Byrne

~ Image 'Light Burst' by Michael Ryan

08/15/2025

I am honoured to walk with the bereaved.

Are you hurting and looking for places of comfort?

Let’s talk.

Our Bereavement Walking Groups continue on Wednesday mornings in Perth and Smiths Falls. For more information email bereavement@thehospicehub.ca

08/13/2025

Grief wears a mask

You might know me as someone who never uses her emotions to defeat herself, someone who can endure things easily.
But you wouldn’t know how much it took me to be this calm.

The strength you saw in me was the result of a silent struggle. Behind the smiles, there were moments of weakness and a shed of tears.

I put on a brave face because I didn’t want anyone to worry, but deep down, I was breaking too. I was crying silently, but it echoed loudly in my mind.

Wearing a mask so tight,

Each tear was concealed in the quiet night.

But deep within, I’m weeping,

So loud and multiplying.

I didn’t want my emotions to get the best of me, so I fought them, held them in, and pretended everything was alright.

But behind the facade of toughness lay a shattered person, holding onto hope and trying to pick up the pieces.

I appeared composed while at the same time masking my tears and keeping my emotions tightly locked inside while my heart was slowly crumbling.

“How could you handle anything without breaking?” Did I? But I was barely holding myself together.

And I’m glad that I managed to help myself in that tough phase of my life.

If you’re reading this, take a moment to remind yourself that sometimes it’s okay to handle things silently, but if the weight becomes too heavy, it’s okay to ask for assistance.

And if you feel like you have no one to reach out to, know that I’m here for you.

https://urkaive.medium

08/13/2025

Happening soon in Perth.
Time to register.