Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, CWS —

After the long winter comes the warm days of spring to melt away the enshrouding white blanket of grief. The once white landscape is altered turning into bright fields of multi-hued wildflowers, as the lands and animals awaken from their long winter’s sleep into springtime and life.

Without a doubt, spring is my favorite season; it is a time of rebirth and renewal. The beauty in this time of year can be used to help those living with loss. Poets and writers have used imagery of the changing seasons to explain loss, grief and how people cope life-changing events. Author Molly Fumia wrote, “The season of mourning, like spring, summer, fall and winter, will also pass.

Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote, “We must live through the dreary winter if we would value the spring…” The chilling, bleakness and desolation of winter when plants lie dormant and animals go into hibernation is a good description of the emotional state of someone dealing with a loss. In contrast, the approaching spring with the emerging plant and animal life is a good way to describe how a grieving person feels as she begins to re-enter life and begin anew after living through a loss.

Grief Descends Like a Winter Storm

When grieving a loss many people pull back into themselves, like a bear wanting to sleep through the winter, as the grief engulfs and overwhelms them. I wrote in an article on the healing qualities of nature, “Grief descends like a winter snowstorm, covering everything in sight, in a mind-numbing blanket of sorrow. When a life-changing loss occurs, it is as if one has entered an eternal state of winter.”

Holding on to the Hope of Spring

The seasons that change in a predictable pattern year after year serve as enduring reminders that nothing is permanent. In the darkest of times, memories of happier, more enjoyable times can sustain us and provide hope as we stand like crocuses heralding the spring.

Like a crocus in the snow,

I stand knee-deep in winter

Holding springtime in my heart.

Joan Walsh Anglund

Holding on to the hope of the spring, knowing that days filled with warmth and sunshine will return once again can help us get through the gloom of winter.

Discovering an Invincible Summer

During the countless dark days and challenging times that follow a significant loss, grieving people often turn to the ever-present power of nature for healing. Sometimes a few simple words and natural imagery can serve as reminders of the strong forces around us. Nature can help to evoke the internal forces that exist deep within and discover the invincible summer. Philosopher Albert Camus wrote a wonderful description of finding those inner forces to overcome loss, “In the depths of winter, I finally realized that deep within me there lay an Invincible Summer.”

Learning to Live Again as the Grief Melts Away

Poet George Herbert wrote, “Grief melts away like snow in May, as if there were no such old thing. We all know that in time the cold winter melts into spring. Over time, the grieving person realizes that he will survive the loss and begins to start living again, as the grief begins to melt away.

Taking the Risk to Bloom

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful

than the risk it took to blossom.

Anais Nin

The grieving person eventually becomes aware that life goes on and staying shut off from the rest of the world, from family and friends has become more painful than stepping back into the world to live again. As the grieving person learns how to integrate the loss, the winter of their grief gives way to a spring of rebirth and living a new life.

Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT, CWS is a respected physician, an expert in life challenges, loss, grief and bereavement, professional health educator, professor, lecturer and author. She received her Medical and Master’s Degrees from the University of California, Davis.  Dr. Dyer also has expertise in wellness education and health promotion. She teaches college courses in Nutrition and Wellness and a graduate course in Grief, Loss and Bereavement. She contributed the chapter on “Loss and the Workplace: What to Do at Work When the World Crashes in Around You” to the Healthy Profits: The 5 Elements Of Strategic Wellness book. She can be reached through the Journey of Hearts website, JourneyofHearts.org.

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Kirsti Dyer

Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT, CWS is a respected physician, grief & loss expert, professional health educator, professor, college instructor, lecturer, author and former NICU parent. She received her Medical and Master’s Degrees from the Universi ty of California, Davis. Dr. Dyer was the first physician to become a recognized Fellow in Thanatology: Death, Dying and Bereavement from the Association for Death Education and Counseling, She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, a Board Certified Expert in Bereavement Trauma and also in Traumatic Stress as well as a Nationally Certified Bereavement Facilitator. Dr. Dyer has an extensive list of professional and online publications. She has created and taught professional and graduate courses to physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, other health care providers, members of the clergy and spiritual advisors in the areas of grief, loss, bereavement, trauma and facing life challenges. She has presented at medical conferences within the United States as well as in London, Heidelberg and Victoria. Her interests in life challenges, web-education, self-help and encouraging the healing process following a loss culminated in creating the Journey of Hearts, www.journeyofhearts.org website to educate people about the normal grief response. Since 1997 thousands of people worldwide have been helped with the resources available at this online healing place for anyone who has ever experienced a loss. In addition to her interests in grief, loss, bereavement and trauma, Dr. Dyer also has an active interest in wellness promotion. She is a Fellow of the American College of Wellness, a founding member of the Medical Wellness As sociation and a member the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Since having her daughters her professional focus has shifted from clinical practice to education, wellness and health promotion. Dr. Dyer teaches online Graduate course in Bereavement as an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Hospice and Palliative Studies for Madonna University. Dr. Dyer also teaches Nutrition and Wellness for Columbia College as a Part-time Instructor in the Biological Sciences Departmen

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