The Program From March 2nd.

Posted by Max Childs

Our program from March 2nd, was our own Harry Coffey speaking on the topic of grief.

Harry touched off an engaging group conversation on the topic of grief by walking us through the various stages many of us go though when dealing with grief in our lives. They include; Shock, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance and Hope. What can help us cope is; Courage, Patience, Self Compassion, kindness, and what Harry refers to as "Move Your Feet "Action.

Harry shared a video called Scattering CJ. It was about a mother coping with the loss of her son, a Veteran from Maine, that committed suicide in his mother's driveway after they had an argument. Prior, he had joined the Air Force so he could see the world. His mother moved her feet to action with a special asking. she would send 750 packets of his ashes to people making journeys to all points of the world to scatter CJ's ashes. Harry read about this in the Press Democrat and wanted to participate. when Harry and his wife, Judy, traveled to the Rotary International Conference, he scattered CJ's ashes at Northern Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. A moment caught on film and included in the video.

At the conclusion of the video, Harry shared his own stories of loosing his daughter, Taylor, at 17 days old and his daughter, Alexa at 17 years old. He likened Alexa's being a donor for sixty other people to their own version scattering CJ. Harry then shared Rotary Magazine stories about people coping with grief in various ways. Harry wants everyone to know there is help available for those who are grieving. Some ways are listed here in Harry's hand out.

Now it was our turn. Harry, Stacy and Marty lead table discussions by sharing their own stories and guiding the conversations. Eloise lead a breakout on Zoom with Mark and Randy which can be seen in the recording by clicking the link below. I truly believe some degree of healing took place in all of these groups that morning. Harry concluded the program with his analogy of life is like a bowl of golf balls. You need to prioritize the important things like golf balls, because if you don't put them first, they will not fit if you fill the bowl with sand and coffee first. But there is always room for a cup of coffee with a friend!

Click HERE to view a limited time recording of Coping with Loss and Grief with Harry Coffey.