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A Warm Hello,
In case you missed it, we had the first National Conference on Widowhood July 17-19 in beautiful San Diego, California. (Sponsored by the Soaring Spirits Loss Foundation) Yes, there were a whole bunch of “Widows In the House”! What a time it was…The hotel staff (much to their surprise) commented on what a fun group we were. Widows = Fun; perhaps that might not be expected by many “non widows”, or let’s face it, may not even be what some of us widows would think either. But it WAS!
At the conference, there were widows ranging in ages all across the board (20’s to 70’s) and widows that ranged from a couple of months to 14 years post the death of their spouses. Some widows lost their husbands very quickly to tragedies such as a car accident, heart attack or killed during military action while others shared experiences such as caring for their spouses through long illnesses such as cancer. There were widows not only from the U.S. and Canada but Iraq, Kenya and Republic of Singapore. Each widow had their individual story and situation (as do you and I), AND we all had a common bond. We understood, we “got it”, we could nod our heads up and down and really connect to the widow walk and journey. We also found it was okay to quickly ask and actively listen to topics such as, so “how did it happen and how long has it been” and not feel that strange in the least. This was the raw advantage and blessing of bringing together a group of widows.
The common bond also included the desire of each widow to make the commitment for personal and potentially professional development by attending this conference. The wonderful women I had the great fortune to meet were wanting to make a positive difference in their lives, to rediscover themselves, get crystal clear about what was important now and to take the actions that would move them forward. What a group!
We had a day of tremendous workshops geared to supporting widows. I was a speaker at the conference and plan to post my presentation on www.CoachingForWidows.com. The title was ”Embrace Life: Lights, Camera, Action” and we did an experiential coaching exercise including the Wheel of Life. You will be able to follow along with the audio, the PowerPoint presentation and have the exercises available for download to use in conjunction. It will be the next best thing to being there and I hope it provides a great service and support to you!
Coach Corner:
1. How would you rate your level of satisfaction (1-10) on your personal/professional development? (this could include support groups, classes, books, life experiences, a coach, etc.)
2. What are the things you are doing or not doing that are having a positive effect? What are the things you are doing or not doing that are having a negative effect?
3. What is one thing you can commit to doing (however small or big) that would make a difference? What will you do and when will you do it?
Here is to You!
Warmly,
Colleen
www.CoachingForWidows.com
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