We all have many losses in a lifetime, it’s part of life.  There are big losses and little ones and each one matters.  Our feelings tell us how much we cared; and our good memories of what we have lost will help us in time.

The big losses can change us.  Sometimes we need to stop ordinary life for a bit, because it’s a shock; and we may always feel sad when we think about it, and that’s okay.

Sometimes we don’t realise how much the little losses affect us too.  The end of something precious feels really sad for a while.

Everyone has different ways of managing.  When you think about times when you’ve felt loss, what has helped you?  Let’s share ideas in the comments below.

We’ve been really touched by your response to this topic of loss.  So many losses experienced and you have shared such great wisdom for how to live through them.  Young and old.  

Now we want to give you this inspiring piece of art created this week by our resident artist, Tanja: a phoenix that rises slowly but magnificently from the ashes.

This will be a really important section of the Mother-Daughter Date diary that we’re creating together.  Thank you to everyone who contributed and your comments are always welcome.

The phoenix represents transformation, death, and rebirth in its fire. It dies in a show of flames and combustion and obtains new life by arising from the ashes and is the ultimate symbol of strength and renewal. The phoenix is symbolic of the sun, which “dies” in setting each night only to be reborn in rising the next morning.

Our experience of a loss can be transformative like this, we are forever changed, yet we live on…

Kim McCabe’s book ‘From Daughter to Woman’ is full of tools for dealing with loss, particularly chapters six and seven on how to support our children’s strong feelings and feel good about themselves.