An Announcement and A Poem

This week's episode is a special announcement and a poem for you.

Wednesday, August 30th, is National Grief Awareness Day, and National Overdose Awareness Day is August 31st here in the U.S.

In light of these special days, I feel encouraged to host a virtual gathering this coming September, which is perfect timing because it will coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day. This virtual gathering about understanding and managing grief will be held on Sunday, September 10th, 2023, at 1 PM PST / 3 PM CST / 4 PM EST.

We will meet virtually over Zoom, and it will not be recorded. Please note that it's also limited to 100 attendees, so register today!

What you will learn at this virtual gathering is:

• General Grief 101
• Why Grief is So Challenging
• How Grief Impacts Our Lives & Our Bodies
• The Ways We've Learned & Have Been Conditioned to Manage Grief
• Healthier Ways To Cope & Manage Grief
• Resources & Tools To Support Yourself & Others
• Answers to Questions You May Have (either during the Live or via email afterward)

Let's Learn, heal, and find solace together. This is your space if you're seeking a supportive community, expert insights, and practical strategies to navigate your grief journey. Let's unite, share our stories, and build connections that uplift us on this path of understanding and healing. Register now and take the first step toward healing and growth.

Virtual Gathering Registration HERE.

I share a special poem about grief a little more than mid-way through the episode. If you've experienced grief due to the loss of a loving or not-so-loving relationship, I know you will resonate with the poem. Let its verses remind you that you're not alone in your journey, and hope awaits you.

This is to remind you not just during this National Grief Awareness Day and National Overdose Awareness Day, but every day is a reminder that you are not alone in your journey. These days remind us of our collective strength, resilience, and capacity for healing. Reach out to your support network, share your feelings, and honor those no longer with us. Your story matters, and by coming together, we can uplift each other, raise awareness, and work towards brighter days ahead. There is strength in unity; we can positively impact ourselves and our communities through understanding and compassion.

RESOURCES: 

• LIVE Gathering Registration HERE
• Learn Your Human Design

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NEED HELP?

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
• Crisis Text Line provides free, 2

Transcript

Victoria Volk: Hey, Hey, Hey, Thank you for tuning into grieving voices. I am your host Victoria V. and today's episode is actually was unplanned. I had an episode recorded, a Q and A episode where I actually answered my own question. One that I had been wondering for the past eighteen years. And yeah, so I hope you come back for that episode. I'm actually really excited to share that one. I'm excited to share all the episodes, but it was a big aha moment for me. And I think if you're into and particularly if you're into human design or if you've never heard about human design, maybe actually take this time in this coming week to investigate that for yourself. What is human design? Maybe get your own body graph chart, so you kind of have an idea of what I'm talking about next week. 

Victoria Volk: But anyway, through this rabbit hole I've gone down, I've really had a lot of awareness about myself and reflecting on my life in the past and things like that and relationships. And so I'm really excited to share that episode just because I'm learning and sharing as I'm learning. So anyway, but this week is inspired by this week's episode is inspired by my virtual assistant actually, she helps me a lot with my publishing my social media and graphics, creating the graphics and things like that. But this coming week, tomorrow, actually, it's like, I'm recording this earlier, but tomorrow, as you're listening to this Wednesday, the thirtieth is National Grief Awareness Day. And this Thursday, the thirty first is National Overdose Awareness Day here in the United States. And so I always want some special type of post on days like that. On my social media, but she had a great idea that this would be a great episode for your podcast and I couldn't argue. I was like, yes, that is a great idea. 

Victoria Volk: However, I had a synchronic moment where I had read her email and I was actually going through I don't know what I was reading something about workshops and things like that and seminars and I'm like, yeah, I haven't done that in a long time. Like, I was just reflecting in my in my own mind, like, man, it's been since probably like twenty twenty since actually pre-COVID, where I did any type of workshop or webinar or public speaking informational type thing. And that was really when I was kind of fresh into I was only a year into working with grievers. I was doing I could only that first year, I was certified, I could only do actually, first year and a half, I could only do work with grievers in person. 

Victoria Volk: So I started one-on-one in groups in person, and then COVID hit in that you know, changed all businesses, how all businesses do business. And the institute through which I'm certified, the Grief Recovery Institute, for my grief work, they had to change how they did things. And so I actually got my advanced certification during COVID where then that allowed me to work with grievers online because it's not the method isn't different. It's just the approach is a little different. And also there's a lot of, you know, tech things that, you know, they touch on and things like that, which was never wouldn't have been an issue for me, but it's just additional training that they require for you to work with grievers online, and it is an additional training. 

Victoria Volk: So anyway, I got that out of the way during COVID and also my end-of-life doula certification too. All that to say is I, after that, reflection. I went to Facebook for something entirely different and just to quickly check something. Actually, my I really am not a heavy I'm not a heavy Facebook user at all. Most of actually, anything that you see on social media is auto-posted. So social media is like the necessary evil for my business. It's just not my favorite thing. I much prefer to sit down with coffee, one-on-one, or a small group in person. Like, in-person is more of my thing.

Victoria Volk: But anyway so I go to Facebook to check to in one of my groups I'm in for my coach that I have for my fitness and nutrition and things like that. And I stumbled upon. I see that I had a notification on my business page and it was this complete stranger. No idea who they are. No idea if they even like my page or follow my page, but they liked two posts that I shared in twenty twenty, and both were about doing a workshop, like an informational thing. In-person, one was in person, and one was online. And talk about synchronicities. This is what I mean friends when I say and I've said this in episodes before, like, following the bread crumbs or listening to the nudges or when you knew the universe, when God, your guiding angels, the divine, whatever you wanna call it, whatever you identify with or whatever resonates with you, when you get those moments, pay attention. Like, we get so wrapped up in the day to day life and you know, just in the home. We're just constantly in the home. Like, doing going from one thing to the next thing to the next thing to the next thing, like a well-oiled machine. Right? 

Victoria Volk: That we kind of miss these magical moments. Like, it was a magical moment to me. And I thought, oh my gosh. I gotta do this. I gotta do this. And what a perfect time? It is perfect timing. So this episode is actually me to share with you that I'm going to be doing a free gathering. I'm calling it a gathering because I don't really like workshop, symposium, lecture, session, webinar, like, all that, whatever. I don't think this to me feels like more of like, let's come together, let me teach you some things, and let's talk about it, and so that's gonna happen actually on September 10th, which is World Suicide Prevention Day. Perfect day for me, for I feel to have this. And so I'm calling it understanding and managing grief.
And check out the show notes for the link to register. You do have to register. It is limited to a hundred people just because I don't pay any. I do pay for Zoom, but the max that I can have is a hundred people. I'm not quite ready to dive into, like, several hundred dollars for something like that when I don't do this stuff that often.

Victoria Volk: But Anyway, so it's live, it's virtual, and it's going to be from three to four thirty central standard time on nine ten on a Sunday, and I hope you join me. Because I'm gonna teach you some things, and we're gonna hold space for each other. And so I'm really excited to do this because like I said, I haven't done this since twenty twenty, April of twenty twenty. So it's about time. And apparently, the universe thinks so too because they gave me all the signs.

Victoria Volk: So what I'm gonna do now is I wanna read something to you that because I wanted to give you something else for today and for this week being National Grief Awareness day, and National Overdose Awareness Day, I want you to listen to what I'm about to say and feel it. And I know you'll feel it because I feel it when I'm just reading it to myself and when I'm sharing it out loud because I like to read poems out loud even to myself. I wanted to give you something today to let you know that there is always hope that grief comes from the depths of our souls, and we all have a story to tell. And so I think this -this little poem is just devoted to all of those hurting hearts this week, this month, this year, this day, today, tomorrow; we're all experiencing something. There is not one soul on this earth that is not untouched by grief. I don't give a crap who you are, even warm buffet grieves, and I'm sure. Because grief comes in many different forms. It takes many different shapes and, you know, it can I mean, I'm sure Warren Buffett lost money in his day. And I'm sure that caused him some grief. But all that to say is, there is no one unscathed on this earth, so when it comes to grief. 

Victoria Volk: So I'm gonna read this to you and leave it with you today. And whenever you wanna come back and listen to it, it's about twelve minutes in. Twelve minutes, thirty seconds in. You can fast forward and just listen to that. 

Victoria Volk: Grief's journey, a poem. In shadows cast by silent tears, grief's heavy veil, a shroud appears. A haunting ache, a mournful song, a journey where we all belong. In tender whispers of the breeze, the echoes of what used to be we find our hearts held by the past, a love, too precious, and too vast. The empty chair, the vacant space, along in gaze we can't erase. Yet in this pain, we still can see the bonds of love that set us free. Grief cars a path through depths of soul, a rivers course both deep and whole, it teaches us to hold our pain and slowly find our peace again. And memories like fragile light, we find the strength to face the night, to honor those we've had to part and heal the ache within the heart. Though tears may fall like gentle rain and healing feels like distant terrain, grief's journey shapes us, molds us new, emerging stronger, tried, and true. In shadows cast, by hearts, estranged, grief tendrils twine a truth unchanged. Where love once bloomed, now withered with tears, into less than loving bonds, it's clear. A dance of size, a silent pain, where once was sunshine, now is rain. The hollow echoes of what was lost in a love that faltered at a cost. The bitterness of words unsaid in hearts that ache where hopes have fled, the ache of longing unfulfilled, and empty spaces, grief distilled. Two soles adrift in separate seas, once entwined, now brought to knees. The scars of love turned cold and gray, in fractured bonds that fade away. The grief finds its place and loves debris appointment reminder of what could be, in less than loving realms we roam, projecting remnants of a broken home. So let us share this weight we bear. Reach out to others in despair. For through our pain, connections birthed and in each other loves unearthed. In grief's embrace, we find our way, to brighter skies, a hopeful day for as we navigate the pain, we find that love will still remain. 

Victoria Volk: I hope that resonated with you. And if it did, please share it with someone you know or love who might be struggling today or this week or this month. You never know what one little piece of encouragement can do for another. And I hope you can join me on September 10th. Again, it's limited to a hundred people, so I encourage you to register early. And the link will be sent out after you register and it will not be recorded. I wanted to create a safe space for people to feel open and sharing if they feel called to. And I think if it's recorded, people don't necessarily feel like they can share openly and freely. And so it will only be live you will not receive a replay. And but I will provide some handouts or some things that I don't want people to be taking notes during this either. So I'm going to provide whatever it is that you need you know, if you there's information you wanna come back to, things like that, and some resources as well. And there'll also be some time for some Q and A too. So I hope you can join me again September 10th, It's Sunday, three to four thirty Central Standard Time, understanding and managing grief. 

Victoria Volk: Thank you again for tuning into this episode. I send you all so much love and light this week as we go into National Grief Awareness Day and National Overdose Awareness Day just reach out to someone that you think might be struggling and say, hey, I'm here for you. Just sending you some love and light and thinking about you and it can go a long way. You just never know. So again, lots of love to you. And remember, when you unleash your heart, you unleash your life. Much love.