Social

Why does this happen?

Grief - Shame - Isolation

Partly because we rarely see open discussions of grief in news segments,
social media, or entertainment. It’s easier to slap on a label like “depressed” than to acknowledge that sadness is a normal emotional
state—especially after a loss.

There’s also a communal element at play here. Humans are pack
animals. We are meant to live in close proximity and be engaged with
other people. We used to gather on front porches and at neighborhood
cookouts and talk face-to-face about our struggles. Now we chat through
screens, and that barrier can make it all too easy to misunderstand or
dismiss someone’s pain.

Without honest dialogue, grievers retreat, and loneliness intensifies.

By fostering open conversations and educating the medical community,
hospice workers, and the media about grief, we can help grieving
Americans find healthier ways forward.

It’s not about giving everyone
a depression diagnosis, it’s simply about acknowledging a natural
response to loss—and offering empathy instead of judgment or a
prescription medication.

The Silent Weight of Grief in America ©2025 by Think Theo. All rights are reserved. ...

I am still unpacking in my new home, and this candle has been boxed up for many years. I set it on a shelf and didn’t think about it - until tonight.

I turned off all the lights for bed, and it caught my eye as it flickered. It came on! I flipped the switch to off - it came on again.

It’s still on, lighting up the night.
❤️ 🙏 ...

Good riddance, August! I will not miss you. 🥵 ...

#nationalgriefawarenessday #grief #hope #love #theoboyd ...

Today is National Grief Awareness Day, but if you are grieving that means little to you. EVERY day is grief day and will always be.

Awareness is mostly for those that are simply “not aware” of grief, its effects, and how it affects every part of one’s life. I’m not talking about a mere acquaintance’s loss that you recently attended a funeral for or just hearing that someone passed that you barely knew. I am talking about TRUE, GENUINE, LASTING, IMPACTFUL, LIFE-CHANGING LOSS. The loss of someone that you never thought you could live without. The loss of someone that made such a difference in your life that you don’t see a future on earth without them in it.

This day, this special day set aside to bring awareness, is mainly to let others know what grievers hold inside every day of the year. Every. Day.

If you take every interaction you have with someone, whether at a coffee shop, grocery story, the workplace, church, or wherever, and analyze behavior - I can safely say that 9 times out of 10, most unfavorable behavior is stemming from a loss and grief. The national research study that I completed in 2024 proves it! Download at www.stateofgrief.com

Let’s take all those behaviors and feelings, put them in a grinder, and what do we get? LOVE
The greater the love, the greater the grief.
The greater the grief, the more witnesses that it needs.

What do I mean, witness? A witness listens. A witness hears. A witness allows space for a griever to talk if they want to talk or if they don’t. Be a witness in someone’s life. Be a witness in your own life. Stop thinking of yesterday or tomorrow - think about today. What can you do TODAY to help a person that is simply unsure how to move forward without the person, or people, they loved the most and never thought they could live without? You can sit with them, listen to them, and give them the safe space to share.

Remember - it all comes out as love in the end. ...

I have several T-shirts I love to wear. They say “What would Dolly do?” I have one in white, gray, and blue. Every time I go to Nashville, I buy a new one right there in the airport. It’s become my tradition and souvenir of choice.

Throughout my journey in loss, grief, and now learning to live again, I have centered my decisions around those four words - “What would Dolly do?”

Dolly has always felt like an ally in the way I choose to live. Of course, I never knew Dolly Parton personally - but that probably goes for most of us, right? Somehow, though, I felt like I knew her, and maybe, in some silly way, she knew me too. After all, I’m a Southern girl - blonde, with a love for music.

Daddy would always say, “Dolly grew up like me - poor, but we didn’t know we were poor.”

I loved hearing him say that. There was no shame in his words, only pride. Whether it was Dolly’s family or Daddy’s, they may not have had much, but they had family, faith, hard work, laughter and an appreciation for what they did have. Maybe that’s part of why Dolly always felt familiar to me. She never forgot where she came from.

I will forever be grateful for what Dolly’s life gave to Daddy - and what it has given to me.

So, in honor of @dollyparton I want to share what her name has come to mean to me - not just in letters, but in the way I hope to live my life.

Thank you, Dolly, for reminding this farm girl that you can dream big without ever forgetting where you came from.

I have several T-shirts I love to wear. They say “What would Dolly do?”
#dolly #jesuslovesyou #hope #light #love ...