Speaker 1: Welcome to grief. Let's make sense of this shit. I'm Dylan.
Speaker 1: If a tough date on the calendar is coming up
Speaker 1: or already here this week, you are not alone in
Speaker 1: noticing how the days seem heavier. We are looking at
Speaker 1: grief anniversary week gentle plan for hard calendar dates, because
Speaker 1: those moments often bring a fresh wave of missing and remembering.
Speaker 1: The episode gives you a practical, low pressure plan that
Speaker 1: respects how different each day can feel. Since loss does
Speaker 1: not follow any set pattern, we will keep things simple
Speaker 1: and flexible instead of pushing for any particular outcome. Although
Speaker 1: the dates themselves stay fixed on the page, your experience
Speaker 1: of them can shift from one year to the next.
Speaker 1: While some people feel the pull of memories strongest in
Speaker 1: the morning, others notice it more at night. Because of that,
Speaker 1: the plan we build today leaves room for you to
Speaker 1: adjust as you go. The specific aspect of grief we
Speaker 1: are naming right now is the way anniversary dates can
Speaker 1: pull you back into the raw edges of the loss,
Speaker 1: even after time has passed. However, we are not trying
Speaker 1: to make those edges disappear. Instead, we are creating small
Speaker 1: anchors that let you move through the day with a
Speaker 1: little more steadiness when the weight shows up. Since the
Speaker 1: calendar keeps turning, having a few gentle steps ready can
Speaker 1: make a real difference on the days that matter most.
Speaker 1: We will start by choosing one low key action that
Speaker 1: fits the time of day you expect to feel the hardest.
Speaker 1: Although it might feel odd at first to plan around
Speaker 1: a date you never chose, many listeners find that a
Speaker 1: short ritual gives them something steady to return to when
Speaker 1: thoughts start looping. While nothing erases the missing, these small
Speaker 1: practices let you honor the day without having to carry
Speaker 1: everything alone. Because your grief belongs to you, the plan
Speaker 1: stays open, so you can change it whenever you need.
Speaker 1: Today we focus on that anniversary grief and the quiet
Speaker 1: ways you can meet it. Anniversary grief appears when specific
Speaker 1: dates tied to a loss return and stir up feelings
Speaker 1: that may have settled for a while. Those emotions can
Speaker 1: include sadness or anger, or even a sense of disbelief
Speaker 1: all over again because the calendar has circled back to
Speaker 1: a moment that changed everything. Researchers at the Journal of
Speaker 1: Clinical Psychiatry published a study in twenty eighteen that found
Speaker 1: many people experience this resurfacing on birthdays, anniversaries, or other
Speaker 1: meaningful days. The reactions do not mean anything has gone
Speaker 1: wrong or that progress has slipped backward. Instead, they reflect
Speaker 1: how memory and the body hold on to important dates
Speaker 1: even when daily life has moved forward in other ways.
Speaker 1: Since grief follows no fixed order, these returns stay completely normal.
Speaker 1: You might notice them more strongly some years than others,
Speaker 1: and that variation itself does not signal a problem. While
Speaker 1: the intensity can surprise you, it also passes in its
Speaker 1: own time without requiring any special effort to force it away.
Speaker 1: Although outside observers sometimes expect feelings to fade evenly, the
Speaker 1: reality shows up differently for each person. Therefore, giving yourself
Speaker 1: room to notice what arises becomes one steady way to
Speaker 1: meet the day. In fact, the study highlighted how common
Speaker 1: these patterns remain across many kinds of loss. Because the
Speaker 1: dates carry personal weight, they can activate a wave that
Speaker 1: feels sudden yet familiar. Meanwhile, the passage of time does
Speaker 1: not erase the connection, It simply changes how the connection
Speaker 1: shows itself. Although some days may feel heavy, the experience
Speaker 1: stays part of living with the loss, rather than a
Speaker 1: detour from it. Here is one way to picture it.
Speaker 1: A person might wake on the date, and since the
Speaker 1: same tightness in the chest that appeared right after the
Speaker 1: loss occurred, the tightness does not prove the person has
Speaker 1: failed to move on. It simply marks that the date
Speaker 1: still matters. Since no rule says these feelings must lessen
Speaker 1: every single year, you can meet them without judgment. The
Speaker 1: truth is that many people report the same pattern, yet
Speaker 1: continue to carry their days with care and intention. On
Speaker 1: top of that, the study pointed out that these reactions
Speaker 1: often arrive without warning. However, they also tend to ease
Speaker 1: once the date itself passes, or once a small action
Speaker 1: acknowledges the moment. Although you may not choose the timing,
Speaker 1: you can still choose how you respond when the feelings appear.
Speaker 1: For example, pausing long enough to name what you notice
Speaker 1: can create a brief space inside the wave. Meanwhile, that
Speaker 1: pause does not need to last long or solve anything.
Speaker 1: It simply lets the moment exist without added pressure. Because
Speaker 1: the calendar keeps turning, these dates will likely return in
Speaker 1: future years as well. The return itself does not reset
Speaker 1: your path or undue earlier days of steadier ground. Instead,
Speaker 1: it offers another chance to meet the loss with whatever
Speaker 1: capacity you have right now. Although some years bring sharper edges,
Speaker 1: others may bring quieter recognition, the variation stays normal and expected.
Speaker 1: In other words, anniversary grief functions as one more expression
Speaker 1: of an ongoing relationship with the person or life that changed.
Speaker 1: It does not demand comparison to anyone else's timeline or experience,
Speaker 1: since each loss carries its own texture the way these
Speaker 1: dates land will also carry its own texture. Therefore, allowing
Speaker 1: room for whatever shows up supports a steadier approach to
Speaker 1: the calendar. Now Here is something that happened to me
Speaker 1: a few years back that shows how this can look
Speaker 1: in real life. I remember hearing from someone whose partner
Speaker 1: had died in a sudden accident the previous winter. They
Speaker 1: had made it through the first few months by staying
Speaker 1: busy with work and family visits. By the time summer arrived,
Speaker 1: they felt steadier on most days. Then the calendar turned
Speaker 1: to the exact date six months later. The morning started
Speaker 1: normally enough, with coffee in a walk outside. Yet by
Speaker 1: midday the sadness arrived first, like a quiet wave that
Speaker 1: settled in the chest. It came without any particular trigger,
Speaker 1: other than noticing the date on a receipt. Because the
Speaker 1: feeling caught them off guard, the anger followed close behind.
Speaker 1: They felt mad at the unfairness of it all and
Speaker 1: at how nothing could change the outcome. The anger sat
Speaker 1: alongside the sadness instead of replacing it. Meanwhile, their body
Speaker 1: grew heavy with fatigue that made even simple tasks feel
Speaker 1: like too much effort. They canceled plans for the evening
Speaker 1: and sat on the couch without much energy left to
Speaker 1: do anything else. The combinations surprize them because earlier weeks
Speaker 1: had shown fewer of these intense swings. Although they had
Speaker 1: expected some emotion around bigger milestones, the six month point
Speaker 1: had not seemed especially loaded beforehand. The physical tiredness added
Speaker 1: another layer because it left them drained by late afternoon.
Speaker 1: Rest did not come easily that night either. They kept
Speaker 1: thinking back to the ordinary details of life before the loss.
Speaker 1: Those memories surfaced with fresh sharpness, even though time had
Speaker 1: already passed. The story stays with me because it shows
Speaker 1: how these dates can return and stir up several feelings
Speaker 1: at once. Sadness for what ended mixes with anger over
Speaker 1: the circumstances and fatigue that follows from holding everything inside.
Speaker 1: The person later shared that they wished they had prepared
Speaker 1: something small for themselves that day. They had not realized
Speaker 1: the date would land so heavily until it already had. However,
Speaker 1: this kind of reaction appears more often than people expect.
Speaker 1: When calendar dates line up with a loss, the body
Speaker 1: and mind hold on to those markers even when daily
Speaker 1: life has moved forward. In other ways, anniversaries carry weight
Speaker 1: because they mark the exact spot where everything's shifted. They
Speaker 1: pull attention back to the moment of change and to
Speaker 1: all the adjustments that came after. In other words, the
Speaker 1: return of the date does not mean progress has stopped.
Speaker 1: It simply reflects how the loss remains part of the
Speaker 1: ongoing story. The mix of sadness and anger can surface
Speaker 1: together because both belong to the same experience. Physical fatigue
Speaker 1: shows up when the emotional load grows suddenly heavier than usual.
Speaker 1: That combination arrives without warning for many people who otherwise
Speaker 1: manage their days well enough. The truth is these patterns
Speaker 1: belong to grief itself, rather than to any failure on
Speaker 1: the person's part. Because the calendar keeps moving, the dates
Speaker 1: will keep coming around. Each one offers another chance to
Speaker 1: notice what still matters and to respond with whatever feels
Speaker 1: possible that day. The person from the story eventually found
Speaker 1: a short walk helpful on later anniversaries. They learned to
Speaker 1: keep the day lighter by choice, instead of pushing through
Speaker 1: as if nothing had changed. Meanwhile, the broader point remains clear.
Speaker 1: Anniversaries hit hard because they connect directly to the original
Speaker 1: loss in a way ordinary days do not. They bring
Speaker 1: the before and after into the same frame again. That
Speaker 1: reconnection can stir sadness for the absence and anger at
Speaker 1: the circumstances that caused it. The fatigue follows because the
Speaker 1: mind and body both work harder to hold the two
Speaker 1: realities at once. Ultimately, the experience reminds us that grief
Speaker 1: keeps its own rhythm tied to real dates on the calendar.
Speaker 1: Those dates do not need special permission to return or
Speaker 1: to affect how someone feels. The person in the story
Speaker 1: later described the day as a reminder rather than a setback.
Speaker 1: It showed them the loss still held space even as
Speaker 1: other parts of life continue. Because of that, we will
Speaker 1: step away for just a moment before we pick up
Speaker 1: with one simple way to mark the day when it
Speaker 1: arrives stories like the one I shared show how our
Speaker 1: bodies and minds register dates even when everyday awareness stays elsewhere.
Speaker 1: The system keeps its own quiet record of when something
Speaker 1: changed forever. Because of this internal tracking, a person might
Speaker 1: wake up on a particular morning and feel the weight
Speaker 1: return without any obvious trigger in the present moment. Researchers
Speaker 1: behind the NIH Grief Research Summary twenty twenty one noted
Speaker 1: that these responses often arrive through physical sensations. First, a
Speaker 1: tightness in the chest or a sudden drop in energy
Speaker 1: can appear before thoughts catch up to explain what is happening.
Speaker 1: Although the mind might try to move past the date,
Speaker 1: the body holds the memory in its own timing. This
Speaker 1: separation between conscious plans and automatic responses creates room for surprise.
Speaker 1: You might schedule the day with ordinary tasks in mind,
Speaker 1: yet find concentrations slipping away as the hours move forward,
Speaker 1: since the calendar turns regardless of our readiness. These reminders
Speaker 1: repeat across seasons. However, the way each return lands can
Speaker 1: shift from one year to the next. Intensity often lessens
Speaker 1: over years, yet the same date can still produce a
Speaker 1: noticeable spike in feeling. That difference does not mean earlier
Speaker 1: reactions were wrong or later ones are weaker. Instead, both
Speaker 1: belong to the ongoing process of carrying the loss. While
Speaker 1: some years pass with only a brief pause, others bring
Speaker 1: a full wave that interrupts sleep or appetite. The summary
Speaker 1: from those researchers pointed out that this variability stays common
Speaker 1: across many types of loss because no single pattern fits
Speaker 1: every reexperience. The spikes arrive without warning for some people
Speaker 1: and build gradually for others. You might notice the approach
Speaker 1: of the date through small changes in mood days beforehand. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the actual day itself can feel both familiar and entirely new,
Speaker 1: because the surrounding circumstances have changed since the loss first occurred.
Speaker 1: In fact, the body seems to mark the passage of
Speaker 1: time through these repeated cycles. A cent or a piece
Speaker 1: of music that once carried ordinary meaning can suddenly connect
Speaker 1: back to the original event. Although you might have prepared
Speaker 1: for the bigger milestones, the smaller markers on the calendar
Speaker 1: still hold power. Therefore, a simple date on the schedule
Speaker 1: can pull attention back to the absence, even when daily
Speaker 1: life has found new routines. The summary emphasized that these
Speaker 1: returns do not require any particular effort on your part.
Speaker 1: They happen because the system continues to note the difference
Speaker 1: between before and after. This tracking serves as a form
Speaker 1: of continuity rather than a setback. It keeps the connection
Speaker 1: alive in moments when the conscious mind has turned toward
Speaker 1: other demands. However, the spike in feeling can still feel
Speaker 1: disruptive when it arrives during a busy stretch or when
Speaker 1: other responsibilities press for attention. Since the response comes from
Speaker 1: within rather than from external pressure, it often settles once
Speaker 1: the date has passed. Yet the settling does not erase
Speaker 1: the memory of the spike itself. Instead, that memory becomes
Speaker 1: part of how future dates are approached. The researchers in
Speaker 1: the NIH Grief Research Summary twenty twenty one describe these
Speaker 1: patterns as persistent across different lengths of time since the loss.
Speaker 1: Some people report stronger reactions in the first several years,
Speaker 1: while others notice changes much later. Although the overall intensity
Speaker 1: may decrease, the possibility of a spike remains because the
Speaker 1: date itself carries the original meaning. You might find yourself
Speaker 1: comparing one an of ursary to another and wondering why
Speaker 1: this year feels heavier or lighter. Because grief does not
Speaker 1: follow a straight line, these comparisons stay difficult to predict. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the body continues its record keeping regardless of whether the
Speaker 1: mind agrees with the timing. A person might feel ready
Speaker 1: to mark the date with a quiet action, only to
Speaker 1: discover that the energy for even that small step has
Speaker 1: disappeared by mourning. In other cases, the opposite occurs, and
Speaker 1: a planned ritual brings unexpected relief. The summary highlighted that
Speaker 1: both outcomes belong to the same underlying process of noticing
Speaker 1: what the calendar brings forward. Therefore, allowing space for whatever
Speaker 1: arrives becomes one way to meet the day. If this
Speaker 1: pattern of remembered dates and shifting intensity echoes something you
Speaker 1: have noticed, I would welcome hearing how these calendar points
Speaker 1: have shown up for you. I have been hearing from
Speaker 1: listeners who have shared their own experiences with these anniversary dates.
Speaker 1: One person wrote in about the surprise that hit on
Speaker 1: what should have been an ordinary Tuesday. Their spouse had
Speaker 1: passed away two years earlier from a long illness, and
Speaker 1: this listener expected the main waves around the date of
Speaker 1: the death itself. Instead, the grief surfaced on the anniversary
Speaker 1: of a simple hospital visit, when they had sat together
Speaker 1: and planned a trip they never got to take because
Speaker 1: the calendar had turned without any warning. The reaction arrived
Speaker 1: in the middle of a work meeting and left them
Speaker 1: unable to focus for the rest of the afternoon. They
Speaker 1: described the relief that came later when they read similar
Speaker 1: accounts from others and realized the reaction was not a
Speaker 1: sign that something had gone wrong with their progress. Another
Speaker 1: submission came from someone whose sibling died suddenly in an
Speaker 1: accident several years ago. This listener mentioned how the first
Speaker 1: anniversary passed with heavy sadness, yet the second one brought
Speaker 1: an unexpected calm until a random song played on the radio.
Speaker 1: The song had been playing in the car the day
Speaker 1: they got the news, and it pulled the feelings forward
Speaker 1: again without any clear reason. Although the date itself had
Speaker 1: felt manageable, the body remembered the music and the shock
Speaker 1: returned for a short while. They explained how reading stories
Speaker 1: from other listeners helped ease the isolation because it showed
Speaker 1: these surprises happen across many kinds of loss and do
Speaker 1: not mean the person is falling behind. These accounts highlight
Speaker 1: how the body registers dates in its own way, even
Speaker 1: when the mind has moved on to daily routines. While
Speaker 1: some years bring only a brief pause, others interrupt sleep
Speaker 1: or appetite. Because the tracking of time continues through repeated cycles,
Speaker 1: the relief people describe often centers on the moment they
Speaker 1: note others have faced the same unexpected pull and have
Speaker 1: continued forward anyway. Because grief follows no fixed order, these
Speaker 1: returns stay completely normal, and the shared experiences reduce the
Speaker 1: sense that one is carrying the weight alone. Meanwhile, listeners
Speaker 1: have started noticing patterns in their own calendars and have
Speaker 1: begun marking the upcoming dates with small actions that fit
Speaker 1: the time of day they expect the wave. One person
Speaker 1: sets aside ten minutes in the morning to sit with
Speaker 1: a photo and speak the name of the person out loud.
Speaker 1: Another keeps a short list of three memories on their
Speaker 1: phone and reads it during a lunch break when the
Speaker 1: afternoon tends to feel heavier. These steps come directly from
Speaker 1: the understanding that the body holds the memory in its
Speaker 1: own timing, while the mind may try to move past
Speaker 1: the date. Since the patterns appear across many kinds of loss.
Speaker 1: The relief grows when people connect their own surprises to
Speaker 1: the experiences others have described. Although the anger or the
Speaker 1: sudden sadness can still arrive, the knowledge that the reaction
Speaker 1: has visited others make space for the feeling without the
Speaker 1: added layer of self doubt. In fact, the calendar keeps turning,
Speaker 1: so these dates will likely return. Yet the shared stories
Speaker 1: provide a steady reminder that the response belongs to the
Speaker 1: loss itself, rather than to any failure on the part
Speaker 1: of the person grieving. Because the body seems to mark
Speaker 1: the passage of time through these repeated cycles, listeners have
Speaker 1: found that naming the date ahead of time and choosing
Speaker 1: one low key action reduces the shock when the feeling surfaces.
Speaker 1: One listener now prepares a single cup of tea on
Speaker 1: the morning of the anniversary and drinks it while looking
Speaker 1: out the window for five minutes. The practice stays simple
Speaker 1: and fits into an ordinary day, yet it gives the
Speaker 1: body a place to register the date without the full
Speaker 1: interruption that used to follow. Another person writes a short
Speaker 1: note to the person who died and folds it away
Speaker 1: before the evening wave tends to build. These choices come
Speaker 1: from the same place as the earlier stories because they
Speaker 1: honor the ongoing connection without requiring any particular outcome. The
Speaker 1: relief continues to grow as more listeners realize they are
Speaker 1: not alone in the surprises that calendar dates can bring.
Speaker 1: While the mind might expect certain milestones, the body often
Speaker 1: tracks smaller markers, and the shared accounts help carry the
Speaker 1: weight when those markers appear. Therefore, the focus stays on
Speaker 1: chi using one action that matches the time of day,
Speaker 1: rather than on trying to prevent the feeling from arriving
Speaker 1: at all. Grief anniversary breathing now offers a five minute
Speaker 1: pause for the late afternoon when many notice the wave returning,
Speaker 1: Sit comfortably and place one hand on the chest. Breathe
Speaker 1: in for account of four while noticing the rise under
Speaker 1: the hand, Then breathe out for account of six while
Speaker 1: letting the shoulders drop. Repeat the pattern for five minutes
Speaker 1: and allow the body to register the date in its
Speaker 1: own timing. Since listeners have started noticing patterns in their
Speaker 1: own calendars and have begun marking upcoming dates with small
Speaker 1: actions that fit the time of day, they expect to
Speaker 1: feel the pull most strongly. A simple three day plan
Speaker 1: can offer one steady way to move through the week.
Speaker 1: Because the body registers these dates on its own schedule,
Speaker 1: the plan spreads the weight across three separate days instead
Speaker 1: of concentrating everything on the single anniversary itself. A study
Speaker 1: published in Death Studies showed that people who used brief,
Speaker 1: structured rituals around law states reported steadier days overall, although
Speaker 1: the researchers noted that flexibility mattered more than any fixed routine.
Speaker 1: The day before the date itself calls for one light
Speaker 1: ritual that takes almost no effort. Lighting a candle in
Speaker 1: the evening while saying the person's name out loud works
Speaker 1: for many because the flame gives the eyes something gentle
Speaker 1: to rest on. Others choose to write a short note
Speaker 1: on a scrap of paper and tuck it somewhere safe,
Speaker 1: since the act of putting words down can ease the
Speaker 1: pressure that builds as the date approaches. Either choice stays
Speaker 1: small on purpose, so the day before does not turn
Speaker 1: into another task on an already full list. On the
Speaker 1: anniversary day itself, the main invitation is permission to rest,
Speaker 1: without any requirement to accomplish anything else. Rest might look
Speaker 1: like staying in bed longer, than usual or canceling one
Speaker 1: appointment that can wait. Although some people that a short
Speaker 1: walk outside helps the body settle, when the mind stays restless,
Speaker 1: the key remains that whatever form the rest takes, it
Speaker 1: carries no expectation of feeling better by the end of
Speaker 1: the day. Since grief does not follow a schedule, this
Speaker 1: day simply gets marked as one where normal demands can pause.
Speaker 1: The day after offers space for one small, forward looking
Speaker 1: action that points ahead without forcing closure. Writing a brief
Speaker 1: note about something the person enjoyed can serve as that step,
Speaker 1: because the note keeps the connection alive while turning attention
Speaker 1: toward the next days. A walk in a different direction
Speaker 1: from the usual route works equally well for others, since
Speaker 1: movement can shift the energy that lingers. After the date
Speaker 1: has passed, the action stays modest because the goal is
Speaker 1: simply to mark that life continues, rather than to achieve
Speaker 1: any particular outcome. You can adjust any part of this
Speaker 1: plan to match what the body actually needs on those days.
Speaker 1: Some years, the light ritual on the day before feels
Speaker 1: enough on its own, while other years the rest day
Speaker 1: expands into two days because the wave lasts longer. The
Speaker 1: study in death studies also pointed out that people who
Speaker 1: gave themselves room to change the plan reported fewer moments
Speaker 1: of self criticism around the dates. That flexibility keeps the
Speaker 1: whole approach from becoming another source of pressure. Meanwhile, the
Speaker 1: options remain open because no single ritual fits every loss
Speaker 1: or every person. Lighting a candle might feel right one year,
Speaker 1: and writing a note might feel more natural than next.
Speaker 1: The walk on the day after can happen in the
Speaker 1: morning or the afternoon, depending on energy levels, and the
Speaker 1: note can stay private or get shared with someone else
Speaker 1: who understands the date. The plan works best when it
Speaker 1: stays responsive rather than rigid. Ultimately, any version of this
Speaker 1: three day approach needs to include gentleness toward yourself at
Speaker 1: every step. That gentleness shows up when the ritual gets
Speaker 1: skipped because the body asks for something else, or when
Speaker 1: the rest day turns into more time than planned. It
Speaker 1: shows up again when the forward looking at action stays
Speaker 1: very small, because that is all that fits. Because the
Speaker 1: calendar will bring these dates around again. The practice of
Speaker 1: treating yourself with care becomes the part that travels forward
Speaker 1: with you. We'll take a short break now and return
Speaker 1: with more ways to mark these calendar dates in the
Speaker 1: weeks ahead. Because the three day plan we talked about
Speaker 1: earlier leaves room for whatever actually shows up, self compassion
Speaker 1: becomes the quiet thread that holds it together. Skipping a
Speaker 1: step on any of those days stays completely acceptable. Feeling
Speaker 1: nothing at all on the anniversary itself counts as a
Speaker 1: valid response, too. Grief moves on its own schedule, and
Speaker 1: forcing an outcome only adds pressure that most people already
Speaker 1: carry enough of on their own. Instead of measuring how
Speaker 1: well the plan worked, try noticing what actually happened without
Speaker 1: any added judgment. While one person might find the light
Speaker 1: ritual on the day before brings a small sense of steadiness,
Speaker 1: another might discover the whole thing felt flat or distant.
Speaker 1: Both experiences belong here. The same goes for the rest
Speaker 1: day itself. Permission to rest does not require proof that
Speaker 1: the rest was used in any particular way. When self
Speaker 1: criticism starts to surface, replacing it with a simple statement
Speaker 1: can shift the inner tone. This week is hard and
Speaker 1: I am doing enough offers a steady reminder that does
Speaker 1: not demand improvement or comparison. You can repeat it quietly
Speaker 1: in the morning, or write it on a note that
Speaker 1: sits where you will see it later. Because the calendar
Speaker 1: date itself already carries weight, adding harsh words toward yourself
Speaker 1: only increases the load without changing the loss. Although the
Speaker 1: body and mind may register the date in different ways,
Speaker 1: patience with both remains part of moving through the week. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the small actions chosen earlier can still stand, even if
Speaker 1: they look different in practice than they did on paper.
Speaker 1: The point stays the same. Kindness towards yourself leaves space
Speaker 1: for whatever returns each time the date circles back. One
Speaker 1: way to close the day with that kindness is the
Speaker 1: evening grief reflection, a three minute practice of naming one
Speaker 1: thing you did or did not do, and meeting it
Speaker 1: with the same phrase we just used. Hope stays present
Speaker 1: in the simple fact that these dates will keep returning,
Speaker 1: and so will the chance to meet them with a
Speaker 1: little more gentleness each time. Because the three day plan
Speaker 1: leaves room for whatever shows up on the calendar, anniversaries
Speaker 1: can be prepared for without being controlled. You choose one
Speaker 1: small step that fits your day, whether that means a
Speaker 1: light ritual the evening before or simply giving yourself permission
Speaker 1: to rest when the date arrives. Although the body may
Speaker 1: still register the memory in its own time. That choice
Speaker 1: brings a quiet steadiness. If this podcast helps you make
Speaker 1: sense of your grief, join our supporters club and help
Speaker 1: us keep these conversations going. You will find the link
Speaker 1: in the episode description. Meanwhile, listeners often ask what comes
Speaker 1: after these mark dates. Next time, we will look at
Speaker 1: how grief moves through ordinary days that carry no special
Speaker 1: number on the calendar. Try one small step from the
Speaker 1: plan this week and notice what actually happens without adding judgment.
Speaker 1: Replace any rising criticism with a simple statement that you
Speaker 1: are doing what you can in this moment. Although the
Speaker 1: feelings may return in future years, patience with both body
Speaker 1: and mind stays part of moving through them. Take one
Speaker 1: slow breath in and let it out. Thank you for
Speaker 1: being here.