Season of Hope
I recently had a conversation with an old childhood friend that gave me pause. My dear friend lost her spouse of 12 years quickly and tragically three months ago. As we were sitting and catching up, she looked at me with a shivering voice and tear-filled eyes, “I don’t know how I am going to survive this season of my life. I’ve never been here before and don’t know what being here means.” Her transparency and vulnerability took me back to a place where I had felt those same emotions. Those feelings that you have known before, yet they are unfamiliar. That feeling of not knowing how you will survive the thing you never thought you could. Yet, every day we are faced with these uncertainties and carry them with us throughout the day.
I’ve always questioned what it is that allows us to carry that heaviness and keep going. The answer for me is hope. Hope is light that the darkness never saw coming. It’s what allows a sorrowful heart to smile in the midst of grief. Hope is a terminal cancer patient showing up unabashedly every week to support their peers through difficulties. It is a cancer caregiver who takes time from work to sit with their person for hours in treatment. Hope is every single one of you, our members, who show up no matter the season you are experiencing in your life. I have learned that there are many things that we can anticipate and control, and then there are those things that show up unannounced and turn our lives around. The way to survive and live with these changes is through hope because you control it, and it travels.
As always, I want to offer one of my favorite poems written by one of my favorite poets:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And the sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chilliest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity
It asked a crumb of me.
– Emily Dickinson
In my response to my friend, I told her I hoped she would get what she needed to exist in this season and then leave when it was time. So here’s what I hope for you all:
- I hope you are brave enough to be scared and encapsulated with grief but do it anyway.
- I hope you give yourself space to feel your emotions this season and know that it is normal and okay but will also pass.
- I hope you give and feel loved every day.
- I hope you know you are strong enough to survive everything you thought you couldn’t.
As we settle in and away from this holiday season, I want you to make space for the things that matter and help you live lighter. I’ve listed a few of our program offerings that will help you do just that.
Upcoming Program Offerings
Anticipatory Grief: Grieving Before the Loss – Online with Brittany Squillace, MA, LMFT
- Wednesdays, January 18 – March 22 from 11:00am – 12:30pm
- In this 9-week group, grief therapist Brittany Squillace, MA, LMFT, will guide you through various processing (open-ended) questions and provide education to begin understanding:
- What anticipatory grief is.
- How is it different from typical grief.
- How it shows up and impacts you.
- Ways to process, cope with and navigate anticipatory grief.
- Each week, at the beginning of the group, you will be asked a question to openly discuss (as you feel comfortable) in the group. Based on discussions, you will receive appropriate education and gain a new tool or resource to help you along in your anticipatory grief journey.
Tai Chi & Breathing Techniques – Hybrid with Steven Yang
- Every other Wednesday, January 18 – March 15 from 6:30pm – 7:30pm
- Join us and experience the benefits of Tai Chi! This is a relaxing and comfortable class for all. This class will cover Tai Chi and breathing techniques and how we can apply these skills to our daily lives. The Tai Chi form that will be taught is Yang Style 24 Form, a gentle form that can drastically improve balance, flexibility, mobility, and mood. At the end of each class, there will also be a guided meditation session to help participants center and self-reflect.
Thriving Through: Combating Depression, Loneliness and Grief in Cancer Survivorship – Online with Shaunequa James, MSW, LGSW
- Thursday, March 9 from 6:00pm – 7:00pm
- Join us in discussing depression, loneliness, and grief in cancer survivorship. We will discuss the many ways that each of these shows up and provide practical and effective ways to thrive through them. Participants will gain three key learnings in this session:
- An understanding of and ability to define depression, loneliness, and grief.
- The importance of social and emotional wellness and connection.
- Practical interventions to combat symptoms of depression, loneliness, and grief.
Home of the Heart – Online with Christy Moe Marek
- Monday, March 13 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
- You are invited to come together in the GCTC community to creatively explore how we hold our experience of feeling at home within ourselves and in the world. Using inquiry as a doorway, we will discover how long-held beliefs can keep us in patterns of experience that no longer serve us. From there, we tap into what is possible when we choose to write a new story and see it come to life on paper/canvas as a means of fostering fearless belonging in our lives.
Thrivent Financial: Money Canvas and Medical Treatments
- Dates to come
- Medical treatments come with a high cost. Money Canvas coaching sessions can help you find more breathing room in your budget to cover the cost of your medical bills. No pressure. No fees. Just friendly conversations that put you in control of your finances. Thrivent Financial: Money Canvas and Medical Treatments will be offered as a hybrid Education Session. Light dinner and refreshments will be served for in-person attendees! Stay tuned for coming dates and times.
Sign up for these upcoming program offerings on our virtual program offerings page and in-person program offerings page, in your class registration account, or call us at 612-227-2147.
With love and gratitude,
Shaunequa James, MSW, LGSW
Program Director
612-227-2147 office | 952-767-7627 direct
10560 Wayzata Blvd., Minnetonka MN 55305
