Compassion Spring 2022

Spring 2022 - Compassion | www.tcf.org.uk 10 by photos of the children they’re written for, or of something special to the writer. It really is a wonderful acquisition for our library and is of course available to borrow. I’d like to finish with a poem from ‘Forget-Me-Not-Poems’ which seems very appropriate in today’s world. It’s written in honour of Samuel Jacob Walker by his sister Sarah and is called ‘Grief Quarantine’. With love from Mary Grief Quarantine ‘I’ve been confined to grief quarantine A silent whisper has rippled through my contacts “Keep a safe distance, bereavement might be catching and there’s no saving her”, But isolation won’t help Tragedy isn’t contagious There’s no vaccine and there’s no cure but the treatment plan is simple Company. Kind words. Thoughtful acts.’ It’s time to lift the quarantine. Do you find that other people start giving you advice, all too readily, on how you should grieve? Maria Ahern has her own take on it… Listening When I ask you to listen to me, please don’t: Start giving advice Try to ‘solve my problem’ Tell me I shouldn’t feel this way When you accept that I do feel what I feel, no matter how irrational, then I can stop trying to convince you, and start to understand what’s behind this irrational feeling. So please listen to me and accept me, just as I am. Maria Ahern