Saturday, December 12, 2009

To build a home...


This photo brings back memories... it was taken at my aunt and uncle's mountain house in North Carolina following my mother's death, in December 2000.

We spent Christmas week there, and although the mood was not festive, it was still joyful. We had snow, we had a great hill, a couple of sleds and each other. A warm fireplace at night, no interruptions from TV, internet, phones... just peace. A chance to reflect and remember.

I recently wrote of the cloud of witnesses on CaringBridge.com... the people who participated and shared their thoughts during Alice's father's journey. The love and support expressed was open, loving and honest. For me, it was reliving my mother's journey, but it also gave me a lot of perspective and, after nine years, has allowed me to find my own inner peace.

There has been a lot of building, and rebuilding, in these past few months. One such project is a new website that Alice and I are pleased to announce: LetsBounceBack.com, an online community for members to share their experiences of coping with and overcoming adversity.

Adversity can come at you in many ways... job loss, depression, the loss of a loved one... Sharing the experience can be a healing process, and others, in turn, can gain insight and lend support.

Sometimes, all it takes is a kind word to see you through... sometimes, that kind word leads to friendship, and isn't the world a better place when you are among friends?

This is a place where I feel at home...

4 comments:

Starman said...

It seems interesting, but I have an aversion to places that make me buy information.

QBParis said...

Hi Star,

We have the good fortune to know the fellow who developed the online personality test we're linking to from the site. It's free, and personally I find it quite amazing. Most people I know who have tested it feel the same. We are excited to link to it from the site, because our visitors can learn some fascinating things about themselves... it is really a quality test, entirely in keeping with the aim and purpose of Let's Bounce Back. There is an option to purchase a more detailed analysis and solutions printout.

Let's Bounce Back offers a free newsletter, free forum access, free support to create your own blog, and registration on the website is entirely free.

I hope you'll visit LetsBounceBack.com!

low oestrogenlevels said...

Great post, very inspirational. I too have been a hardened person due to different adversities that came in my life, and those adversity will just make you a stronger person every time you overcome it.

QBParis said...

Hi Low! :-)

Thank you for your comment! I hope you will take a look at the website. We have a great community that is growing everyday. Very open and honest communication is happening in the forum and on the blog. We'd love to meet you!