On Saturday, 24th September 2016, we held our well attended ‘Exploring Resilience Workshop’ facilitated by the inspirational Ted Bowman, a leading family and grief educator from the States.
We were delighted to welcome Ted to the Friends Centre here in Brighton as part of his annual UK tour during which he worked with Lapidus: The Writing for Wellbeing Organisation and Cruse Bereavement Care.
During the day Ted shared stories, poems and literary resources with the intention of promoting resiliency for participants and the people they work with.
Poems included ‘The Guest House’ by Rumi, ‘The Peace of Wild Things’ by Wendell Berry, 'Blue Heron' by Deborah Keenan, and 'For the New Year, 1981' by Denise Levertov.
Ted asked the question ‘How do we bring our better selves rather than our depleted selves?’ when working therapeutically with others.
He talked about joy and grief and the moments of intersection between them, citing a quote from 'Caring: A Feminist Approach to Ethics and Moral Education' by Nell Noddings. "... even in the deepest grief, filled with guilt and sorrow and regret and despair, I may still see and feel joy there-in-the-world, trembling at my fingertips. Turning from a graveside or leaving the hospital after holding a dying hand, joy may burst through like a rainbow over tears."
He talked about joy and grief and the moments of intersection between them, citing a quote from 'Caring: A Feminist Approach to Ethics and Moral Education' by Nell Noddings. "... even in the deepest grief, filled with guilt and sorrow and regret and despair, I may still see and feel joy there-in-the-world, trembling at my fingertips. Turning from a graveside or leaving the hospital after holding a dying hand, joy may burst through like a rainbow over tears."
Through writing experiences and discussion, participants were able to share and extend their resources for doing therapeutic work. Ted encouraged us to follow the metaphor when working with clients. He believes that metaphors can be even more personal and meaningful than straightforward words. When we follow the metaphor by asking certain questions we can move someone to a different place.
‘To invite people to tell their stories is one of the greatest compliments we can give another human being.’ Ted Bowman
