Youth – A Conversation on Grief and Forgiveness

Sat Noon | Youth

Sheridon Hill

There are so many challenges facing our young people today. From the unsettling horror of school shootings to the dehumanizing harassment of a bully, our youth face many critical decisions points. The adage “hurt people hurt people” seems more relevant now than ever. But what is the best way to respond? How do we break the cycle of “hurt people hurt people”? How do we find healing from tragedy and loss? How do we find safety, both physical and emotional? The ancient tools of grief and forgiveness provide non-violent loving responses to these questions. Forgiveness and grieving are essential tools for healthy thriving people, and they are life skills that can be learned. Join Forgiveness Coach Lyndon Harris and Grief Dula Sheridan Hill for a conversation about these important life skills.

Sheridan Hill

My career as a biographer has taught me that life is a series of stories that you tell yourself; the mistake we make is believing our stories of victimization and repeating them in our heads, ensuring that we will continue to react instead of respond to each moment. Reactions rush forth out of past pain and are full of self-justification (the moral high horse); responses arise from an inner capacity to be-with-what-is (breathing into the vulnerability that love calls us to). I call myself a grief doula, as I help folks release grief and let vitality in. I’m honored to work with forgiveness activist Lyndon Harris. I believe in the healing power of rituals as simple as lighting a candle with an intention, both as private actions and as moments of community-building and group witnessing.
www.griefcircle.net

Sessions:
58 Joyful Soul of Grief

Lyndon Harris

Lyndon Harris is the Co-director of Tigg’s Pond Retreat Center in Zirconia, NC, where he is developing a Journey to Forgiveness Institute. Harris is also a forgiveness coach, and an inspirational and motivational speaker, having spoken at numerous conferences across the United States and around the world. He served more than 20 years as a pastor and his work at Ground Zero as priest-in-charge of Saint Paul’s Chapel (located directly across from the World Trade Center in New York City) has been written about widely, including the NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Christian Science Monitor. His work in forgiveness is featured in the award winning documentary, “The Power of Forgiveness” (Journey Films 2006). Harris is also the Executive Director of the Gardens of Forgiveness, an educational non-profit dedicated to teaching the way of forgiveness as tool for conflict transformation and peace making.

Sessions:
58 Joyful Soul of Grief

Session #422