No one wants to see a friend suffering from grief but when our friend has lost someone they care deeply about they will have to grieve. Grieving is the natural emotional response to loss. It’s a painful emotion to observe in anyone but even more so when it’s our friend. No one wants to see [...]
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The 10th Anniversary of 9/11: How You Can Help
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September 8, 2011
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On September 11, 2011, we remember the 10th anniversary of the day when nearly 3,000 victims were killed after two airliners were crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, another plane hit the Pentagon, and a final plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. In 2001, the barrage of bruising images from [...]
Father’s Day Brings Fond Memories of ‘Grandpop’
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June 14, 2011
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My Grandpop was a legend in my small hometown mostly because of his many “unusual hobbies” – like counting how many flies he could swat on a front porch glider on any given August day. As scores of commuters rushed by our house, they regularly shouted, “Hello, Pop, how many flies today?” Grandpop, pushing 90 [...]
Hats Off to a World War II Vet
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May 29, 2011
2 Responses
Yesterday was a wonderful day. While standing in line at the pharmacy, the gentleman behind me smiled. I don’t go to the CVS to make friends, but somehow yesterday I did. This older fellow’s smile, along with his vet’s hat, was engaging. He looked too young to have been in WWII so I asked him. [...]
Grief Has Its Own Timetable
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April 20, 2011
3 Responses
After the death of someone we love, our grief experience and overall healing has everything to do with our relationship to the deceased, the intensity and depth of the love we felt for them, and our degree of faith in a hereafter. In the immediate aftermath of a person’s death, it’s hard to breathe and [...]
Accepting Change Can Bring Peace
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March 18, 2011
1 Response
In my younger days, I was naive enough to think I could control change. I’ve learned, but not quickly enough, that no one can control or stop change. And, here is an interesting little fact: Charles Darwin believed that those people who survive are the ones who can adapt to ongoing change. That thought of [...]
Elizabeth Edwards Embodied The Hero Archetype
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December 10, 2010
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Many are mourning the death of Elizabeth Edwards. I would like to share some thoughts of my own about why we are gripped by her life’s story. I believe Elizabeth Edwards embodies two archetypes: the mother and the hero. I will focus on the hero archetype believing it is the more prominent. Just as Odysseus [...]
Thanksgiving Day Can Be Painful
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October 28, 2010
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When you lose someone you love, Thanksgiving Day feels burdensome and painful. When a brain tumor took away our precious Katie’s life, I dreaded that holiday. For seven years, we served no rutabagas because they were Katie’s favorite vegetable. The thought of their seasonal aroma wafting through our home without her in it was too [...]
The Bereaved Deserve to Follow Their Dreams
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August 7, 2010
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It was 1992. Four years had lapsed since my daughter Katie’s diagnosis of a brain tumor. She was now healthy and back working in New York City. Because my maternal stress levels were greatly relaxed, my professional dreams began to reemerge. It was time to think about making them come true. Both my dreams and [...]
What it Means to Grieve a Loss
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May 28, 2010
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When you open yourself up to love, you open yourself up to loss. When you suffer a loss, you will experience the painful emotion we call grief. It’s a natural response to loss, yet to the person going through this emotion, the experience feels overwhelming. I would like to help you understand that going through [...]
The Bereaved Are on a Hero’s Journey
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March 29, 2010
3 Responses
Some say we don’t have anymore heroes, but I say we do. Let’s take a look at what a hero is and decide if you are one. A hero travels the hero’s journey. That’s when regular people such as you or me are asked to leave our routine life because something serious has occurred, and [...]
My Daughter Was My Hero
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March 12, 2010
3 Responses
My daughter, Katie Brant, was my hero. She was given an overwhelming challenge which she met valiantly, fearlessly and always with a greater good in mind. I witnessed Katie’s bravery early on when she marched down the hallway of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia toward the gurney for her first brain surgery. She was only 18 [...]
Four Seasons of Marriage
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February 10, 2010
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By Mary Jane Hurley Brant, M.S., CGP – This month, let’s talk about the four seasons of marriage: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Usually we think of marriage as a relationship with our partner but it can also be the state of marriage solely within us called “the inner marriage.” The inner marriage is an [...]
Synchronicity Connects Mom to Deceased Daughter
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February 9, 2010
7 Responses
Have you ever had an experience where you said, “Wow, what a coincidence.” Maybe it was more. Maybe it was actually a “synchronicity.” Let me explain through a Jungian perspective. Carl Jung, the prominent Swiss psychiatrist, believed synchronicity meant “more than a coincidence.” Jung, the thinker and founder of analytical psychology, connected synchronicities to the [...]
Holiday Healing: Rest, Compassion, Prayer
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December 28, 2009
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The holidays have arrived. Normally they are a time for family fun and celebration but when you are grieving the loss of someone who has died, the season is different: it is painful. Grieving is a long process. It takes time to heal from the loss of a loved one. When we are grieving, we [...]
Hope For Heavy Hearts During Holidays
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November 29, 2009
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The holidays are here. Normally, they are a time for family fun and celebration but when someone you loved has died, the season may be painful and lonely. When grieving ,we can feel completely overwhelmed with sadness. We miss the loved person and we long for them. “How can I make it through these days?” we ask. [...]
October is the Time of Change
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October 1, 2009
2 Responses
In my younger days, I thought I could control change. I learned, and not quickly I would add, that no one can control or stop change anymore than one can hold back the tides or halt the autumn leaves transforming from green to gold. This brings me to today’s topic of change and how to [...]
Hello March, Goodbye Fear
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March 17, 2009
1 Response
By Mary Jane Hurley Brant, M.S., CGP – Fear is big these days and, like wildfire, it spreads easily and quickly. Fear is a primal emotion; it triggers our reptilian (more primitive) brain to fight or flee. When the reptilian brain is engaged, it overrides rationality. Therefore, whatever our fear is about – our safety, [...]
February Calls Us to the Love Side of Life
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February 22, 2009
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By Mary Jane Hurley Brant – The month of February focuses our attention on love. Cards are bought, candy is given, kisses abound. So what is it about love? We simply cannot get enough of it. ”I love you” and “I’m in love with you.” Is there a difference? Yes. ”I’m in love with you” [...]
New Year Offers Chance to Start Fresh
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January 6, 2009
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By Mary Jane Hurley Brant —
