Being There for Someone in Grief is filled with stories of healing—stories made possible because of many generous people who kindly came forward to help, to give of themselves in order to be there for someone in their darkest hour. These simple acts of generosity are priceless because they restore our faith in humanity. They inspire us to be more generous because, in our hearts, this is the kind of world we want to live in, the kind of world we want to leave as our legacy. Creating a culture of care begins personally, with me and with you. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
Our own personal healing is inextricably linked to the healing of others. Each of us is connected to those who suffer—no matter the circumstances of their pain, or ours. Our liberation is made possible by attending to their healing.
If you have been nourished in some way by what you have read, please pass it on. I offer two suggestions below. Because the more we realize what we have been given, and feel the unmistakable warmth of gratitude in our heart, the more it inspires us to give something to someone else, and keep the gift flowing.
Pay it Forward
ONE: The Susan Brady Fund
One evening in our talking circle at Children to Children a young boy said, “Before I came here, on a scale of one to ten, I was a zero. Now I’m a six.” We asked him how a six acts differently than a zero and he said, “Well, before, when I used to get angry, I would pound on other kids. Now I scream into my pillow or hit my bed. I don’t beat up other kids anymore.”Some of the children we served were angry and living in environments where violence had been acted out. We told them anger was a common feeling but one that wasn’t OK to express by hurting ourselves or another. We showed them various things they could do to move the energy out of their bodies. Any one of the children could have possibly grown up without any healthy interventions, leaving them with a pain so big they might kill another. History will never record the tragedies prevented here.
I opened a fund in honor of Susan Brady to benefit the Children to Children program. If you would like to help it flourish, you can mail a gift of any amount to Tu Nidito (Children to Children's parent organization):
Tu Nidito “Your Little Nest”
3922 N. Mountain Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85719-1313
www.tunidito.org
Please note in the memo: The Susan Brady Fund.
TWO: The Being There Fund
Once, in a conversation with a prison chaplain, he told me in his lifetime of working with those who are incarcerated, he had yet to come across someone who had not suffered a terrible loss—most happened when the incarceratedperson was young.
A fund has been created at Bread for the Journey for gifting this book to those who could benefit from its teachings, and would not have access. They will be made available—free of charge—to people in prisons and juvenile detention centers; donated to places where tragedy has occurred; placed in hospital libraries, hospice settings and at grief support centers, etc.
If you have been touched by the teachings in Being There for Someone in Grief or this website, and wish to pay it forward, direct your donation to Bread for the Journey’s “Being There Fund." Mail to:
Bread for the Journey
267 Miller Ave.
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Please write “Being There Fund” in the memo.
You can also donate online at: www.breadforthejourney.org.
Click the Donate button on the homepage,and select “Being There Fund.”