Everyone Thinks You're Doing Better | Ember & Bloom


Greetings From

Ember & Bloom

Hi friend,

Today I want to talk about a sentence I said over and over in my first year: "I'm okay."

I wasn't.

Maybe you know this moment. Someone asks how you are, and you can feel what they want the answer to be. So you give it to them. You smile. You nod. You say you're fine, because explaining the truth feels like more than you can carry in a grocery store aisle.

And then somewhere along the way, a quieter question creeps in: shouldn't I be better by now?

I want to tell you where that pressure really comes from โ€” because it is probably not where you think. And I want to tell you what I have stopped doing because of it.

I wrote this week's blog about it. You can read it here: When the World Expects You to Be Okay Before You Are Readyโ€‹

โœฆ Just for You โœฆ

Something to Try

This week, answer honestly. Just once.

When someone safe asks how you are, skip the "I'm fine."

Try: "Today is hard."
Or: "I am still finding my way."
Or: "I just don't have the strength today."

One person. One honest answer.
Then notice how it feels to not perform.

That is enough for this week.

I'll meet you here again next Monday. Until then, take one small breath and know that it is enough.

Hugs ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’š

โ€” Gladys

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205
โ€‹Unsubscribe ยท Preferencesโ€‹

Ember & Bloom Coaching

I help widowed people to hold the ember of love and find new blooms. I believe in the power of creativity, journaling, and community to bring hope. Read my posts and visit my site for more information. Not widowed? Please share this information with any widowed people you know. Thanks.

Read more from Ember & Bloom Coaching

You get to hear this first... Hi friend, I've been keeping a secret from you. Not a big scary one. A good one. I have started a podcast. It's called Widow's Permission Slips. Each episode is short, and each one builds to a single permission slip. Something you're allowed to do, or feel, or stop doing. The kind of permission nobody hands you after your person dies, so we're going to hand it to ourselves. There are five episodes waiting for you right now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and...

Greetings From Ember & Bloom Hi friend, Today I want to talk about a kind of lonely that surprised me. The kind that doesn't go away when the room is full. After Gary died, I could be surrounded by people who loved me and still feel completely alone. For a long time I didn't understand why. Company helped for a little while, and then the visit would end, everyone would go home, and the empty feeling came back sharper than before. It took me a while to figure out what was really going on. It...

Greetings From Ember & Bloom Hi friend, The 4th of July was this weekend. Gary loved it. He was the biggest playbabe you ever saw on the 4th. So this week I've been missing him, and thinking about something that's been sitting heavy on me. Here it is. Being a widow isn't a season you finish. It's a long road. And when you look up and try to find the end of it, there isn't one. It just keeps going. Some days that's the hardest part of all. Not this Tuesday. Not next Wednesday. The whole long...