The experience of loss is ever present in our every day lives. Most of these experiences involve little to no emotional interaction so they go fairly unnoticed.

But then there are those losses that impact the very nature of our understanding of life i.e. losing our childhood, a way of living, moving countries, losing our job status, divorce and losing a loved one to death.

You would expect to develop more resilience with each experience of loss, yes?

But the truth is, resilience is not what loss is here to teach.

Loss acts as reminder to:

• develop patience and tender loving care in the way we look after our hearts

• adopt a graceful approach towards the natural unfolding of life

• surrender to our vulnerability and sensitivity, and;

• be respectable of death in its most divine form

With loss, comes grief.

Grief is undefinable by emotional standards.

There aren't enough words to fully express the nature and extend to which grief stretches the emotional capacity to experience pain and love, simultaneously.

This is an integral part of building insurmountable faith not only in ourselves but also in our reason for living.

How does one support this pulsating expansion so that it does not turn into ripping apart?

SELF-CARE.

Now, our current self-care methods are overrated. As counter-intuitive as this sounds, please bear with me for a moment while we explore this. Everywhere you look, there are innumerable to-lists for self-care. Most of which are valid and highly effective ways towards self-care. And yet I observe an undeniable struggle to know how to self-care.

There is one key factor without which all self-care techniques remain ungrounded and ultimately ineffective.

What is the key driving factor?

Practicing moment to moment masterful presence to the sensitivity of your emotions.

How are you to recognise and implement any of the self-care strategies if you are not in touch with your emotional needs?

Emotions are like the ocean and your body, a container for these emotions.

When you experience loss, it is much like a tsunami, an upheaval of your emotional state.

No doubt we will find ourselves swept away by the intense emotional waves. All the while life nudges us to find ways to navigate through this intensity.

Below are ways in which we can care for our grieving hearts:

1. Acknowledge the grief (when ready)
   
   

2. Find support to safely express the range of emotions (seeking help is an act of courage)
   
   

3. Trust the emotions to guide (they are here for us, not against us)
   
   

4. Become aware of what we need in the moment (our needs will change as will our emotions)
   
   

5. Create a sacred space for all emotions to move through the body freely

The ultimate care we can give ourselves is to be ever present to the pulse of life.

My wish for you

May self-care be a way to honour your core emotional needs, as they arise, in the moment, trusting the flow of your own heartbeat.