Gatherings | Sheila Collins

Art of Grieving Lessons from the Eclipse

by Sheila Collins | Apr 11, 2024 | Celebrations, Community, Environment, Gatherings, History, Past Events, Personal Stories

My husband and I are on the shores of Lake Conneaut, the largest natural lake in the state of Pennsylvania. We’re meeting for the first-time, relatives and friends of our Pittsburgh neighbors who share a century old summer cottage on the lake. We’ve driven several...

The Art of Dancing on Behalf of Peace Part 2

by Sheila Collins | Feb 29, 2024 | Celebrations, Dances, Duality, Environment, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, Health and Wellness, Self-Care, social justice, Songs, The Art of Grieving

“What is she doing? My 3-year-old grandson William’s voice echoed throughout the large meeting space at my 31-year-old son Kenneth’s memorial service. Hearing that voice, and the question that I imaged many other people were asking themselves, I stopped what I was...

Family Reunion

by Sheila Collins | Jan 4, 2024 | Celebrations, Environment, Family, Gatherings, Health and Wellness, History, Our Children, Personal Stories, Play, Resilience, Rituals

The sign that greeted visitors to the house we’d rented for our family reunion in Palm Springs read, “Welcome to Paradise.” As family members arrived by plane or auto or rental car on the various days of the 9-day holiday, the sign reinforces the notion that we were...

Using the Arts to Prepare for the New Year

by Sheila Collins | Dec 28, 2023 | Art & Life, Celebrations, Dances, Family, Gatherings, Our Children, Past Events, Personal Stories, Rituals

A hummingbird just fluttered by, reminding me, that besides all my relatives that have arrived or are about to arrive, or who are catching a nap on the patio alongside me here in Palm Springs, I have winged relatives too. I’m most likely gonna need some of that...

Finding Joy Amidst Evidence to the Contrary

by Sheila Collins | Dec 21, 2023 | Celebrations, Duality, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, Past Events, Personal Stories, The Art of Grieving

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go.” The saleswoman in the consignment resale shop turns the music off, or down so low we can’t hear it. I’m fine with that because rather than get me in a holiday mood, the music seems to remind me of all I...

Grieving to Overcome Hate

by Sheila Collins | Nov 30, 2023 | Art & Life, Book Excerpts, book promotion, Celebrations, Community, Environment, Family, Gatherings, Good Will Come, Grieving, History, Past Events, Personal Stories, Publications, The Art of Grieving, the Big Body, Writing

I didn’t see the National news item when it was broadcast across the gigantic flat TV screen at the airport this morning. But I saw its effect in the eyes of my traveling companion. As he described its message to me, the churning sensations in my gut reminded me of...

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Art of Grieving Lessons from the Eclipse

Family Reunion

Using the Arts to Prepare for the New Year

Finding Joy Amidst Evidence to the Contrary

Grieving to Overcome Hate

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Loss is inevitable, yet too often we bury our grief, pretending we're OK when we're not.

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