¶ Welcome to Solace Soul Plus Grief
I welcome you to Solace: Soul + Grief . My name's Candee Lucas and I'm a grief chaplain . I accompany those who are grieving any kind of loss and I ask that you let me accompany you today . You're always welcome in this circle of healing , love and support . Remember , we are all on this journey together , passing through life , progressing to old age
¶ Buddhist and Christian Prayers
and eventually death . It is not sufficient to take care of the body . We need to take care of our emotions as well . From the Dalai Lama-- it is not impermanence that makes us suffer . What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not-- . From Thich Nhat Hanh Prayer of Loss .
Dearest Jesus , who wept at the death of your friend and taught that they who mourn shall be comforted , grant us the comfort of your presence in our loss . Send your Holy Spirit to direct us lest we make hasty or foolish decisions . Send your Spirit to give us courage , lest , thou fear we recoil from living .
Send your spirit to bring us your peace , lest bitterness , false guilt or regret take root in our hearts . The Lord had given , the Lord has taken away . Blessed be the name of the Lord . This is a Buddhist prayer .
--With every breath I take today , I vow to be awake , and every step I take I vow to take with a grateful heart so I may see with eyes of love into the hearts of all I meet , to ease their burden when I can and touch them with a smile of peace .
This life of ours would not cause you sorrow if you thought of it as like the mountain cherry blossoms which bloom and fade in a day--
¶ Shinto and Islamic Comfort
. This is a Shinto prayer for peace . --Although the people living across the ocean surround us , I believe , are all our brothers and sisters . Why are there constant troubles in the world ? Why do winds and waves rise in the oceans around us ? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of mountains-- .
And from the Quran --and verily , the hereafter will be better for you than the present-- . I give you this one thought to keep I am with you . I do not sleep . I am a thousand winds that blow . I am the diamond glints on snow . I am the sunlight on ripened ground . I am the gentle autumn rain when you awaken in the morning's hush .
I am the swift , uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight . I am the soft stars that shine at night . Do not think of me as gone . I am with you still in
¶ Memorial Poetry and Reflections
each new dawn . May their memories be a blessing . When I die , give what's left of me away to children and old men that wait to die . And if you need to cry , cry for your brother walking the street beside you , and when you need me , put your arms around anyone and give to them what you need to give to me .
I want to leave you something , something better than words or sounds . Look for me in the people I've known . Give me a way . Look for me in the people I've known . Give me away . I want to leave you something , something better than words or sounds , or loved . And if you cannot give me away , at least let me live in your eyes and not on your mind .
You can love me most by letting hands touch hands , by letting bodies touch bodies and by letting go of children that need to be free . Love doesn't die . People do so when all that's left of me is love . Look for me in the people I've known and give me away . That's a poem from Merit Malloy . In the Book of Lamentations , book 3 , verse 26 .
Let --Let us search and examine our ways and turn back to the Lord . Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to God in heaven . You have screened yourself off with a cloud that no prayer may pass through . My eyes shed streams of water . My eyes shall flow without cease , without respite , until the Lord looks down and beholds from heaven .
My eyes have brought me grief . Waters float over my head . I said I am lost . I have called on your name , o Lord . Hear my plea . Do not shut your ear to my groan , to my cry . You have ever drawn nigh when I called you . You have said do not fear . You have championed my cause , o Lord . You have redeemed my life . You
¶ Biblical Lamentations
have heard
¶ Episode Closing and Support Offer
me , o Lord-- . That concludes this week's episode . You can find us on Apple , Spotify or Amazon . Feel free to send any questions you might have about grieving to my email i n the show notes I'll try to answer any questions you have in the future . Remember I'm always available for spiritual direction by Zoom to those who are grieving .
Please reach out to me if you have this need . Be safe . Travel with God always at your side .