Monday Jan 03, 2022

Colors of Life - Grieving Dreams

Colors of Life—Grieving Dreams

Grieving Dreams is when we review our lives and realize a dream we have pursued for so long doesn’t benefit us anymore.

I recorded an episode of my other podcast, Chica and the Man with my co-host Alex Greenwood. We talked about career changes and how they affected us. (Listen to that episode here). How we grieve when we have pursued a job, career, or a business and gave our heart and soul to it only to have to let it go. We know it’s the right thing to do, but yet there’s this sadness of letting go. We think what if I could have done more? Where did I go wrong? Was I just not good enough? In reality, I feel the lessons and importance of it have run its course. When we feel this way, it is a form of grieving. We need to address it. As Eleanor Haley from Grieving the Loss of Hopes and Dreams states: When we care deeply about something, it can be difficult to know when to let go. Sometimes our hopes are all we have to keep us getting out of bed in the morning. People always like to say things like, It’s never too late to follow your dreams and many times this is true. When there’s a chance to see your dreams through or there is still joy in the journey, by all means, keep going.

I grieved letting go of acting. There was no more joy in the journey. I knew I couldn’t make a living at it, yet I pursued it for many years. I was in disbelief because I had invested so many years and my soul in it. How can I love acting and the career doesn’t love me back? Nowadays, if it comes my way, I’ll be happy to do it. It’s the pursuit of it I have released. It was heartbreaking and liberating at the same time.

Grief is a normal response to loss during or after a disaster or other traumatic event. Grief can happen in response to loss of life, as well as to drastic changes to daily routines and ways of life that usually bring us comfort and a feeling of stability. Common grief reactions include:

Shock, disbelief, or denial
Anxiety
Distress
Anger
Periods of sadness
Loss of sleep and loss of appetite

CDC on grief and Loss (see link below)

Regardless of the scenario, the loss of hopes and dreams can be incredibly hard to accept and cope with. Eleanor Haley.

Deep listening is the practice of turning toward your feelings and emotions.

Most of us have the tendency to run away from anything uncomfortable within us. It’s only natural. But numbing, avoiding, and rejecting our pain only makes what we feel larger and ‘scarier’ than it truly is. When we turn toward our pain with curiosity and gentleness, we often find an immediate sense of relief. Aletheia Luna

What I’ve learned through grief is to accept, be kind, and love myself. Life will have its moments, it’s part of living. Learn to ride the beautiful, never-ending passions and gifts of life.

The poem for this week is Quiet from Inspire Me: Perception

Black and white

Chrome bedroom

Reflects silvery gray moods of

The uncharted mind

Incandescent garden lights

Shine through the blinds

Marking lines on face

Stares at the light

Answers from another realm

Beyond our three dimensions

Silence prey’s existence of