“When one door closes, another door opens.”  I have always found this expression to be so comforting.  Even when it takes awhile to determine what door has opened and where, it always seems to be true.

I extend my thanks again for your support over these two years of blogging.  I have received so many kind and thoughtful responses, which I deeply appreciate.  As the “Transitions . . . where endings meet beginnings” blog ends, so begins the monthly newsletter, “Still Waters:  Tools and Resources for Living Deeply.” (more…)

I recently heard of a friend’s mother’s dying process.  “It’s just awful,” my friend said, “they’ve got hospice in the house and she’s just got a few days left.”  Meanwhile, I learned that this elderly woman is surrounded by her husband, children, and grandchildren, all of whom have had an opportunity to share their love. (more…)

I’m a Gleek, a devoted fan of the Fox show “Glee.”  I’ve been watching avidly for two years.  Although it’s a musical drama about a high school glee club, they sensitively tackle serious subjects like bullying, homosexuality, teen pregnancy, divorce, and now death.

As a grief therapist, I was curious to see how they might treat this subject in the most recent episode, “Funeral.”  Sue Sylvester (the viciously cruel gym teacher) lost her beloved sister and was devastated.  She shut down in her pain. (more…)

With the rest of the world, I have watched the videos and news accounts of tragedy in Japan.  As if the earthquake and tsunami weren’t enough, the nuclear reactor explosions and subsequent meltdown are creating an industrialized disaster of unprecedented proportions. (more…)

One of the most striking features of soap operas is that the characters never seem to be scarred by their tragedies. They live through illnesses, miscarriages, adultery, multiple divorces, and deaths but, the next year, they move on seemingly unscathed. We’re willing to suspend disbelief because the fiction is so satisfying, so comforting, so unlike real life. (more…)