Spring Newsletter: Nourishing Our Grief Journeys

Spring in the Pacific NW is rolling out the green carpet in anticipation of Summer. Fields. Meadows. Weedy roadside patches. Ball parks. Trees in full leaf. Every green named on the color palette is displayed and then some. A robust aliveness as I walk the neighborhood with Joey the Pug.

As I mentioned in my last post, Spring seemed to arrive early this year; our Winter was mild. Camellia were in full bloom in February. Then in quick succession it was Magnolia, Cherry, Dogwood, Lilac, Rhododendron and now Hydrangea are coming on strong. Old fashioned Roses are fragrancing the air. It is easy to forget that Spring’s grandeur would not be possible without Decay and Death (yes, I went there). Each daily shift in landscape is a reflection of a blossom or leaf falling back into soil to make way for future harvest. For growth. Sure, some seasons it is more pronounced, but the cycle of Birth, Death, Rebirth is continual.

Anne Richardson

October 3, 2024

Beautiful Questions, Belonging, Between Times, Community, Connection, Gratitude, Grief and Loss, Labyrinth, Life Transitions, My Mentor Grief, Newsletter, Seasons, spiriutal companionship, Curiosity

Autumn Newsletter: Curiosity as Spiritual Practice

Anne Richardson

October 3, 2024

Beautiful Questions, Belonging, Between Times, Community, Connection, Gratitude, Grief and Loss, Labyrinth, Life Transitions, My Mentor Grief, Newsletter, Seasons, spiriutal companionship, Curiosity

Autumn arrived in a timely manner in the Pacific NW, which is not to say the gnawing appetite of wildfires have been quenched and parched soil is sated. But these mornings request an extra layer of clothing as Sun allows himself a few extra winks before rising. Night lingers layering Earth with a breath that hints of colder days ahead. On the small smidge of Land I am calling home ten months after my initial move, I now feel a sense of welcome and belonging. Welcome and Belonging…something I always seem to be a on quest for. Glancing through old posts, it is a common theme, especially back in 2018-19 after my mother’s death that led to my “Sojourn with Grief.”

Anne Richardson

July 28, 2022

Between Times, Gratitude, Grief, Kindness, My Mentor Grief, Pilgrimage, Poetry, Sojourn, spiritual journey, Stillness, Thresholds, Time

Sojourning with Stillness: Portals

Anne Richardson

July 28, 2022

Between Times, Gratitude, Grief, Kindness, My Mentor Grief, Pilgrimage, Poetry, Sojourn, spiritual journey, Stillness, Thresholds, Time

the return is unsettling. yes, i was ready to come home after 61 days away. to step through one final portal…the doors at Portland International Airport. ready to sleep in my own bed after lying in 24 strange beds while i was away, 25 if you count the Reykjavik Airport row of three seats that was a temporary nest. ready to reconnect with those close to my heart.

i remember this from my last sojourn. in a few days the body adjusts to sun rhythms. recalls how to make the morning smoothie. grind the right amount of coffee. slip into the pool and glide back & forth. however, the emotional & spiritual self hesitates. integration takes time. sifting through memories for old routines and deciding which expand my life. which restrict…

Anne Richardson

January 20, 2022

Covid-19, Gratitude, Grief, Grief and Loss, My Mentor Grief, Pandemic, Seasons, spiriutal companionship, Trauma, Winter, Kindness, Between Times, Time

Lessons from the Pandemic: Between Times, Kindness, & Grief

Anne Richardson

January 20, 2022

Covid-19, Gratitude, Grief, Grief and Loss, My Mentor Grief, Pandemic, Seasons, spiriutal companionship, Trauma, Winter, Kindness, Between Times, Time

Fog shrouds my recent morning walk. Street lights halo both bare trees and evergreens. The moon, on the cusp of fullness, is setting in the west, hidden as day yawns to rising in the east. Despite dense fog, light is waking and crows begin their morning report. Winter chill is still in the air and the empty bench remains empty despite my desire to watch the unfolding longer. It’s not that I have anything pressing on the calendar and the quiet of the holiday lull (Martin Luther King Day) that has settled over the neighborhood almost lulls me into forgetting about COVID and the most recent variant, Omicron. Almost.

Anne Richardson, M.A. is a Board Certified Chaplain, Certified Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator, Certified Spiritual Director and poet. Read more...

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Sojourning with Stillness: Portals

Lessons from the Pandemic: Between Times, Kindness, & Grief

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