COVID Grief Gathering
Every second Tuesday of the month, Covid Grief Network (CGN) and the broader Reimagine community hold space for those mourning COVID-related losses. Volunteers will facilitate these peer-led gatherings using art and prompts to spark conversation and reflection. These gatherings are designed for all those who have experienced COVID loss.
Over the last two years, COVID Grief Network (CGN) has offered one-to-one and group-based support to young adults in their 20s and 30s who lost a loved one to COVID.
CGN has a new home under Reimagine, a community-driven nonprofit dedicated to transforming the world by facing loss, death, and adversity together. To read the full announcement about the transition, please click here.
Hosts/Facilitators
Jenny Dilts is the founder of Grieving Coach and host of the podcast Share Your Story: Exploring Humanity One Soul at a Time.
Through her journey as a grief coach, Jenny has completely transformed her own life from not knowing who she was and living in the shadows, to shining as an expert not only in the field of grief, but also in her own life as a wife and mom of 5.
In working with her, Jenny’s clients experience similar transformations. They go from feeling lost and unsure of themselves to standing confidently in their identity and moving forward with clarity and vision. To learn more about her and her work visit grievingcoach.com.
As a Transformational Life Coach, Mary O'Brien helps others work on life goals, especially after a life changing event (death, grief, PTSD, injury) but also to get better sleep, stress management, build resilience, empowerment, personal development, and find peace.
"Nine years ago, I was an EMT working on the ambulance and putting myself through nursing school. My goal was to get my RN, then my paramedic to become a Flight Nurse. Unfortunately, I had sustained two herniated discs in my neck after an accident on the job leaving me unable to lift more than 25 lbs. I was also unable to finish my last semester in nursing school. Devastated but determined, I was looking for ways to "fix" myself and rebuild my life. I was scared, overwhelmed and frustrated with the whole situation and had no one to help me. I had to do it on my own. With a foundation in social work and medicine, I began researching for the answers that eventually led me across country. The best advice I received was, "The body is an amazing machine that will eventually fix itself if given the opportunity." I found modalities I didn't know existed but was able to create a therapy that worked for me. While healing my spinal injury, I found ways to heal other areas of my life too." https://www.rthsolutions.org
Community Touchstones
Confidentiality
What’s said here stays here, what’s learned here leaves here.
Everything invitational
See these questions (and this whole experience) as an invitation, not a demand. If you are moved to answer a different question than one we have listed, go for it. If you’re moved to sit and listen, that’s ok too - just being here is participating.
Speak from the heart
We’re used to speaking what we think we should, what we think others want to hear, or from ideas or stories we’ve told ourselves over and over. See if you can take risks to root into what is true and to share from that vulnerable place.
Listen from the heart
See if you can be fully present to what’s here, listening with compassion to whoever is speaking. Try on turning any judgement that arises (including judgment of yourself!) into wonder. “I wonder what brought her to this belief?” “I wonder what I don’t get?” “I wonder what my reaction teaches me about myself?” See if it’s possible to set aside judgment to listen to others—and to yourself—more deeply.
No one right way
There’s no one right way to grieve, to do this retreat, or to express yourself (for example: totally ok to cry, and totally ok not to cry). Try to reserve judgment, of others and of yourself.
Trust the silence
Take a few breaths before even thinking of responding or offering your own words. Learn to trust the silence, and to notice what arises in it. Take your time.
Cool is the enemy
Try on the idea that you (and everyone else here) totally belong. Let’s try to be an easy crowd for each other. That means presuming welcome, and extending welcome. What if we all let go of “cool”? Cool is the enemy. ;)
Share air time
Take space & make space. Groups work best when everyone has their eye on this.
Self-focus
Speak your truth in ways that respect other people’s truths. Consider using “I” statements so that you can speak from your center, instead of generalizing or making assumptions about everyone else.
No fixing, saving, advising, correcting
No need to jump in to fix anything, save anyone, or offer unsolicited advice. Trust folks’ own processes.
Focus on stories about loved ones
This is a space in which we center stories and support. If you are here to challenge or argue the safety practices of others (e.g., masking in public, vaccinations), this is not a space for you.
