Grief and healing 🌻

Over more than twenty years of coaching, I have held space for many clients facing catastrophic circumstances.

We identify the essentials needed to support their health and take steps forward, growing their reserves and resources as their bandwidth allows.

I help people find and nurture equilibrium for a living, but the past few weeks have put me and those I love to the test.

I have not sent a newsletter since the New Year because I've been dumbfounded by loss and working to regain my footing.

My kind, thoughtful father passed away, too young, on January 3rd, and, four days later, Altadena, California, my beloved home-away-from-home went up in flames, destroying the homes of my brother, many of my closest friends, and countless other hardworking families.

The days have been a blur of funeral preparations and frantic efforts to get help to those in need... and, of course, today—this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—marks the beginning of a new presidential administration, mired in criminality and carelessness.

I know from direct conversations with clients, readers, and loved ones that a lot of people are struggling right now. My story in recent weeks is just one of many, and none of us are alone.

For those who are hurting, this is hard. It's just hard, but that doesn't mean we can't move through it with grace and integrity and (when the time is right) celebrate everything that makes us whole and human.

A client of mine, who runs a non-profit, asked one of her employees, who is from a South American country ruled by a dictator, how people survive and thrive under those circumstances. The employee told her two things get them through: COMMUNITY and ART.

When someone dies... a city burns... or justice withers... the people we surround ourselves with and the beauty we create are our saviors.

I can't pretend to have answers this week, except to remind you that your body is weathering this storm.

It will tell you when the only option is to hit the floor, when to sleep, and when to stand up, stretch, run, or begin again, strengthening the physical and psychological muscles that will carry you forward.

Don't forget about music and sunlight and the power of your words to elevate people: ones you know well and strangers alike.

It helps to help, that's what I'm finding, anyway.

I'm still catching my breath, but the time with my clients is always a reminder that smoke does clear and adventures await when we're ready to go looking for them.

Reach out any time if I can be of help. I have space for two new clients this winter.

Wishing you a peaceful week,

Sarah

Altadena sunset, December 2024, Sarah Hays Coomer

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