Authored by Lynn Salmon-Easter 1/09/2019
Sometimes during the most challenging times of our lives -- gifts and blessings arise from the mist.
'Remembering Dad Project.' Started in December of 2017. I created this project as a way to navigate the grief I was experiencing and to share in commemoration of my father with my family.
"Everything is falling together perfectly, even though it looks as if some things are falling apart. Trust in the process you are experiencing." -- Neale Donald Walsch
In 2017 my father was declining with Lewy Body and Parkinson's disease. I learned the 'not knowing' is what can be so stressful when loved ones are fading away.
Not knowing when my father would die.
Not knowing when I would receive the next call from my mom -- letting me know my father had fallen and injured himself again.
Not knowing what the end would look like.
Personally, I have been exploring and deepening my own understanding of self-care and wellness for many years now. Self-care is a form of self-love. I have learned from my own personal journey, that when I come back to self-care and love, I return to my true and essential nature of non-judgment, joy and peace.
For my whole life, I have been a deep feeler. I am a noticer, an observer and I feel energy. I have not always been aware of this gift or known what to do with it. In September of 2017, I signed up for a Reiki level one training as a way to elevate my own self-care and to help mitigate the compounded stress of the 'not knowing' of my father's decline.
During the training my body was exhilarated and curious. Reiki felt so natural to me. I left the class hungry for more, knowing I would sign up for Reiki level two soon. As my father continued to decline, I continued on my path of Reiki.
One of the greatest gifts Reiki offers, is healing you can perform on oneself. After my level one training, I committed to a daily practice each night which became my centerboard through my father’s death. My nightly Reiki ritual began to deepen and inform my growing curiosity about the loving and healing practice Reiki holds.
My father died in his home of 45 years surrounded by his family and lots of love. I would categorize the experience as spiritual. My father's death brought my family together into an even tighter knit bond. We pulled together, pooled our gifts and created a memorable and meaningful celebration for him.
As the creative in my family, I was responsible for the memory boards presented at my dad's celebration of life service. Putting together the boards was meaningful and cathartic for me. When I returned home from my father's service, I was racked with grief and I knew I needed to continue on the path of creating to sort through my many emotions. This is when the 'Remembering Dad Project' was born. I committed to creating a photo card and letter each month to be sent out to my family for the next twelve months. And so it began.
As I moved through the next year creating cards and putting words to paper -- my grief and feelings swirled and changed. I was buoyed and bolstered by the positive feedback about the project from my family. Starting this project was one of the first times in my life I deeply followed my intuition. I took a risk creating photos cards and writing letters to my family -- it made me feel raw and vulnerable. My family's love and positive response to the project helped me to relax and begin to live from a more authentic place in myself. Reiki has done just the same for me. It has snuggled me up to my soul and deepened the connection to my intuition -- so I may more easily hear my heart and soul's whispers.
What I learned most in my year creating the 'Remembering Dad' cards -- was a simple message. It was a message my family was giving me all along with their positive feedback about my project. The message was simply -- come back to love. When we return to love -- anything can be accomplished or overcome.
So with a newfound strength and knowing -- I will move forward into answering the whispers and callings of my soul and heart to become a Reiki practitioner and to spread LOVE !! I now know what to do with my deep feeling, my noticing, and my observing. I am saying YES to my soul !!
Thank you to my family.
Thank you to my father.
Thank you to the Universe.