The Light Beyond

Easing the burden of bereavement...

One of the joys of this project has been the wonderful people in the grief community I have met along the way, and as a relative newcomer I have been very pleased with the response to the site. One of them, Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer, is a respected physician, expert in loss, grief and bereavement, so I was delighted to receive the following endorsement from her:

"Lucie's new venture, The Light Beyond www.thelightbeyond.com is a valuable new resource for those coping with a death and the resulting grief response. She has demonstrated unwavering determination to oversee the launch of The Light Beyond website, bereavement forum and blog. I have been particularly impressed with her creativity in creating the movie and ebook versions of the poem "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep." These various online products and resources were developed by Lucie and her staff of writers "to help ease the burden of the bereavement process."

Lucie is a talented addition to the grieving Internet community to help in easing people through their journey of bereavement. I am happy to recommend her work with The Light Beyond with high praise."

Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT Physician, Health Educator, Professor, Fellow in Thanatology
Journey of Hearts www.journeyofhearts.org
Grief, Loss & Transitions Blog - http://grief-loss-info.blogspot.com
NICU Parent Support Blog - http://nicuparentsupport.blogspot.com

Thank you, Kirsti! I really appreciate your support.

Oscar the hospice cat

A hospice cat called Oscar seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Continue reading "Oscar the hospice cat" >

Everyone copes differently...

If there was one thing I wish everyone knew about grief, it's this: everyone copes with loss and pain a little differently, and just because one person doesn't cope the way you or I might doesn't mean their loss isn't real and that they aren't really grieving. Grief is a personal experience, unique to each mourner and unique to each loss. Try to remember that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to grieve...

Could our bereavement forum help YOU?

The Light Beyond bereavement forum is gathering pace, and now has over 500 posts. Offering words of wisdom and advice for the bereaved, the grieving and those preparing for the death of a loved one, could it help you or someone you know?

If so, please help us to spread the word. The more people know about the bereavement forum, the more people we can help, and that's our mission in life.

We have also just added a Chat Room and an Inspirational Thoughts forum to inspire and uplift the readers of this caring, tolerant community. Why not visit the bereavement forum and take a look?

One of the most popular funeral poems...

A lot of people have asked us about the funeral poem Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep, which is used in our inspirational movie, so here's a bit more information. Authorship of this poem in its original form (with just two verses) is not entirely clear, but it is generally thought to have been written by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1904-2004). I added the middle verse myself, having written it last summer over a couple of days and then spent ages wondering what to do with it! In fact, the whole Light Beyond project then grew out of this one poem.

The full text of the sympathy poem is:

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn's rain.

Do not stand at my grave and mourn.
I am the dew-flecked grass at dawn.
Where tranquil oceans meet the land
I am the footprints in the sand
To guide you through the weary day.
I am still here; I'll always stay.

When you wake up to morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die.

© 2007 Lucie Storrs www.thelightbeyond.com

Please feel free to reproduce this version of the poem on your own website; however, make sure you include the copyright statement underneath the poem. It's only fair! And if you would like more sympathy poems to choose from, why not take a look at our book of over 250 funeral poems and readings, which is available for instant download.

A lot of people have asked us about the funeral poem Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep, which is used in our inspirational movie, so here's a bit more information. Authorship of this poem in its original form (with just two verses) is not entirely clear, but it is generally thought to have been written by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1904-2004). I added the middle verse myself, having written it last summer over a couple of days and then spent ages wondering what to do with it! In fact, the whole Light Beyond project then grew out of this one poem.

The full text of the sympathy poem is:

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn's rain.

Do not stand at my grave and mourn.
I am the dew-flecked grass at dawn.
Where tranquil oceans meet the land
I am the footprints in the sand
To guide you through the weary day.
I am still here; I'll always stay.

When you wake up to morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die.

© 2007 Lucie Storrs www.thelightbeyond.com

Please feel free to reproduce this version of the poem on your own website; however, make sure you include the copyright statement underneath the poem. It's only fair! And if you would like more sympathy poems to choose from, why not take a look at our book of over 250 funeral poems and readings, which is available for instant download.

Message from the heart: how to write a sympathy card

When someone you know loses a loved one, the simple, thoughtful gesture of writing a sympathy card or condolence letter can bring an untold measure of comfort to the bereaved. In the quest to find the perfect words of condolence for a sympathy message, however, many people become overwhelmed and may avoid writing altogether.

If this should happen to you, begin by accepting the fact that no matter how carefully you choose your words, your condolences will not make everything better – nothing can do that. But a thoughtful, sincere sympathy message, written from the heart, can be a soothing balm, allowing the bereaved to feel your support and know that she is not alone in her sorrow.