Friday, May 20, 2011

GRIEVING CHILDREN

Dear Friends,

All over the world today are the heartaches of grieving children experiencing extreme loss. Their losses are graphic, painful and lasting. Some have lost parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, friends, pets, extended family members. Some have lost homes, schools, libraries, favorite hang-outs, pools for swimming and gyms for sports, plus playgrounds, music and instruments, toys, dolls, computers, video games, movie theaters, museums, biking, hiking and skiing, safe waterways and highways, birthday parties, graduations, dancing, and even jobs.

Mostly because of floods, fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, mudslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other earth/nature disasters and some "people made"... oil spills, explosions, bombings, war, shootings, economics, broken homes, abusive parents - children everywhere are trying to cope everyday with losses beyond their control. For them psychologically, emotionally, physically, spiritually, creatively - all these losses represent the death of their dreams as children. Their lives have been literally "put on hold." Their grief, I am sure, nearly untouchable.

Grieving children need special care, special reaching-out, special information for them to "go on." The saying, "Children are resilient. They can recover. Children are strong, they will get over it." For the most part, I do not think this statement is true. Illness, post traumatic stress syndrome, suicide, drug and alcohol addictions, behavioral extremes, all prove differently. We adults must get involved in learning, teaching, and sharing skills for children to go beyond grieving and into living again.

Find a tool, a talent, a skill that you have and find a way to share your knowledge to change this world of childhood grief. So many organizations are available and will use your time, energy and money to bring light to the darkness of grieving. Churches and spiritual centers everywhere, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the United Nations Children's Fund, and even celebrities and their charities will "hook you up" and make an "earth angel" out of you giving services where so desperately needed. And if you can not find an outlet for your particular type of giving, than start your own.

I am going to do more on this latter, soon, in another blog.
What do you think? Please write to me: amber@ambersilvertar.com

Love, light and protection,
Amber