Being heard

We, as a Canadian society, are not good at grief. We're death illiterate and prefer to silence those who are grieving. We avoid the discomfort, the sadness, at all costs. We attempt to fix or gloss over with euphemisms or platitudes. Every. Single. Day. But imagine a world where we gave a voice to grief… allowed people to actually talk about their person freely and never asked them to ‘get over it’. Yesterday I was lucky enough to moderate a panel discussion at the CAGP National Conference on Strategic Philanthropy. The conversation held space for four widows/widowers and it was powerful. We had a huge attendance and the delegates shared both during and after the session that it was meaningful for them to hear the panel’s perspective. So why can’t we do this better? One on one, and on a regular basis. I’d encourage you to try: Give space to those who grieve. Ask them about their person. “Park your own stuff” as one of the panelists said poignantly, fight the urge to ‘fix it’ (you can’t), and listen.