Kim Go

I am an artist in the expressive, installation and performance arts. I write because of our shared cultural beliefs about loss offer far too few tools to people working with grief. When I was very young, I thought little about impermanence. Then, my personal encounters with impermanence grew to include such challenges as: my father's death in early childhood, a near-death experience in adolescence, divorce, fertility challenges, death of a soul mate and spouse and subsequent loss of access to stepchildren, mugging and assault, pet loss, job loss, suicide of two close friends, and geographic resettlement. Perhaps we have something in common... perhaps not. I have learned that the specificity of the loss does not matter as much as the condition of the heart to be open to others who are learning to be present and alive regardless of the impermanence in their story.

Articles:

Open to hope

Reconstructing Memories After the Loss of a Loved One

Did you know that your memories are not like a hard drive in your mind? Memories go through a process of reconstruction every time we conjure them. When we remember […]

Open to hope

Compassion Fatigue When Helping Others

Compassion fatigue is a term often applied to medical personnel providing support to those facing traumatic circumstances. This powerful term can be applied to numerous alternate settings. The setting that […]

Open to hope

Grounding Techniques to Deal with Panic Attacks

DISCLOSURE: I am not a therapist or trained medical professional. If your want to use this technique, you can consult with your expert therapist or doctor. Most average people can […]

Open to hope

Three Mindfulness Techniques for Grieving People

Mindfulness practitioners offer the insight that resisting our pain often deepens our pain. What can manifest when we resist our pain? When we attempt to cripple our awareness and pain, […]

Open to hope

Child’s Death in Tucson Triggers Universal Question: Why?

When we learn of a tragedy, like the gunning down of Christina-Taylor Green, the 9-year-old Tucson girl, a whole nation mourns in confusion. Even though her death is external to […]

Open to hope

Elizabeth Edwards’ Eyes

What interests me about Elizabeth Edwards were her eyes. Perhaps her lovely aquamarine eyes were merely a result of genetic inheritance, but I sense that those eyes were much more […]

Open to hope

Holidays With Feeling (and Little or No Money)

Before my life partner Brian died, the holidays looked VERY different than they do now. Before Brian died, ample money was spent on transport, hotels, meals… and the children’s gifts. […]

Open to hope

400 Years Later, Shakespeare’s Grief Resonates

William Shakespeare was acquainted with great grief. Learning this has deepened my admiration for the playwright and what he has penned about grief. The Bard, as Shakespeare is often referred […]

Open to hope

A Memory Game for Grieving Children

This version of the typical children’s memory game (known in some circles as Concentration) is for grieving families to share memories of a departed one. It was therapeutic for me […]

Open to hope

The Power of Showing and Telling Your Grief

Ancient wisdom and modern science both encourage us to be expressive when we are grieving. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) research reveals that the brain’s blood flow changes with emotional stress. […]