Welcome to A Butterfly's Journey BLOG
Is Your Valentine An Angel?
Valentine's Day is lovely... for all kinds of couples -- but what if your valentine is an angel?After all, this is a holiday about LOVE. Love lives on, it does not end when someone dies. I believe that we can continue a relationship with our loved ones...
Let’s Make Fun Of Ourselves – Shall We?
It could HELP... we often take ourselves so seriously! This may not apply to every type of loss... but when we lose a partner, things change so dramatically in our day-to-day lives, we may focus on what's wrong... what's missing. I'm a fairly recent widow. That...
Are We ALL Resilient? …Hell YES!
Are We All Resilient? ... Hell, YES!re·sil·ience/rəˈzilyəns/noun1. capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness2. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity. We are usually stronger than we give ourselves credit for......
Starting The New Year Without Your Partner?
Are you starting a new year without your partner?That prospect can be pretty scary... especially if you are a recent widow or widower. Most likely, you blended your lifestyle so that you each were responsible for part of the household chores, but now you...
Can Lost Loved Ones Remain In Our Holidays?
Christmas is almost upon us! What makes that holiday (or Hanukkah) seemingly worse for grievers than other holidays? Is it because of all the commercial hype? Is it because it is a gift-giving holiday? Is it because we gather with family more than...
Surviving the Holidays as a Widow…
Tomorrow is the anniversary of our engagement. Just another milestone I can't celebrate this year because my husband died suddenly fourteen months ago. This one is in the middle of holidays... How those have changed since Jim died! I'm going to share some of the...
Restarting – Thankful for Resilience
Here it is, Thanksgiving Weekend... and while I'm thankful for so much in my life, this year has been a struggle more than most years. But it's also had some great times. This 'take-2-steps-forward-and-1-back' up and down process has taught me much about resilience...
Let’s Try This Again… It’s Been Six Months Today
Grief & moving on take time... over which we have little control. Back in December, I wrote a blog about losing my husband suddenly in October... then getting through the holidays and restarting my regular blogs for A Butterfly's Journey. I hoped that telling...
ABJ Video Blog #13: MUSIC & Meet HOLLY
Video Script: This is Holly. She chose to heal after loosing her daughter Jacqueline to illness. You can imagine Holly and her family went through a period of time that was tragic. My name is Barbara J Hopkinson of A Butterfly's Journey To a New Normal. We help...
Getting Through The Holidays… Starting Again
It has been one heck of a year! Lots of ups and downs... but what happens when we get slammed with grief just before the holidays... how do we get through it? ...one day at a time. I've been on hiatus from my ABJ blogs and newsletters since the spring -...
ABJ Video Blog: RITUAL – Meet MARIA & BARBARA
Video Script: This is Maria and myself — healing together We chose to heal after each losing sons in vehicular accidents. As you might imagine, we went through a period of time that was mind numbing, extremely difficult, and scary. My name is Barbara J Hopkinson of A...
43 Kinds of Loss???
So Many Kinds of Loss - How Do You Get Help? According to the Grief Recovery Institute (GRI), there are 43 losses that can produce the range of emotions that we call grief - including death, divorce or end of a relationship, loss of health, major financial change,...
ABJ Video Blog – PHOTOS – Meet JIM
Video Script: This is Jim. He chose to heal after losing his mother when he was only a teenager, and his father prematurely as well. You can imagine he went through periods of time that were difficult and hard to understand. My name is Barbara J Hopkinson of A...
ABJ Guest Blog – Cindy Barg “Shanghai”
Given the current protest re: animal cruelty, our upcoming retreat featuring Cindy Barg "Anatomy of Happiness - Hope, Heal & Bloom" and ABJ's Pet Loss Grief Recovery classes, I asked Cindy to share her wonderful dog companion story with us. Enjoy! ...Barbara J...
ABJ Video Blog #12 – Keepsakes & Memories – Meet BRAD & BARBARA
Video Script: This is my son Brad and me. We chose to heal after losing both Brad’s younger and older brothers. You can imagine we went through a period of time that was extremely difficult, and incurred massive changes in our lives. My name is Barbara J...
NEVER Give Up – Look at Super Bowl LI !!!
Feel like GIVING UP sometimes? Easier to sink into the pain than fight beyond it? Thinking or hearing there is "No End" to your grief? I get it, I've been there... ...even to the point of attempting suicide. But THAT was my turning point, when I knew I had to CHOOSE...
ABJ Blog: “FRIENDS & FAMILY – Meet MAUREEN”
Video Script: This is Maureen. She chose to heal after losing her brother to a tragic ac- cident when she was an adolescent. As you might imagine, Maureen went through a period of time that was extremely difficult and frightening. My name is Barbara J Hopkinson of A...
New Year – Are You Looking Back or Forward?
Are You Looking Back or Forward As You Start The New Year? Grief tends to make us look back. So does anger, regret and guilt. How's that working for you? Its difficult not to spend a lot of our time looking back. But the facts are that you can NOT change anything...
ABJ Video Blog – HUMOR & Meet MEL
Video Script: This is Mel. He chose to heal after losing her son in an auto accident. You can imagine Mel went through a period of time that was extremely difficult and sad. My name is Barbara J Hopkinson of A Butterfly's Journey To a New Normal. We help individuals...
The Holidays are Upon Us – Now What?
- Are you DONE with holidays before they even begin? - Tired of holiday decorating, shopping, music & a fake happy face? - Do you want ideas on HOW to get through the weekend without exploding? Holidays are great - but they are TOUGH when you are grieving,...
ABJ Video Blog – NATURE & Meet DAVE
Video Script: This is Dave. He chose to heal after loosing his only son to an overdose. You can imagine Dave went through a period of time that was not only mind numbing but extremely difficult, and lonely. My name is Barbara J Hopkinson of A Butterfly's Journey To a...
Nature is Healing!
Do you realize how healing nature can be? Do you make yourself get out & enjoy it? Near or far, what's easy and fun for you to do OUTSIDE? We are often so bound into our world of working, commuting, watching TV, searching online, playing video games...
ABJ Video Blog – CREATIVE ARTS – Meet SUSAN
Video Script: This is Susan. She chose to heal after losing her son in an auto accident. You can imagine Susan went through a period of time that was extremely difficult and frightening. My name is Barbara J Hopkinson of A Butterfly's Journey To a New Normal. We...
Guest Blog: Linda Cheldelin Fell (Grief Diaries)
ABJ GUEST BLOG: by Lynda Cheldelin Fell Founder & Creator of Grief Diaries President, National Grief & Hope Coalition Our 9 year-old grandson is finally old enough to enjoy watching the Olympics with the family. Tonight, while...