At some point in our lives, every single one of us will experience grief. None of us are immune to it. Grief is the price we pay for love. If we love, we grieve. That’s the deal.

And yet, even though death is something every one of us will encounter, we rarely talk about it openly.

That silence creates stigma and it can leave people feeling incredibly alone at a time they need the most support.

This is especially true in the workplace, a place where many of us spend the majority of our waking hours.

The bills don’t stop, so many people return to work while navigating a life-altering loss, expected to function, perform and carry on as if nothing has changed.

Grief doesn’t switch off for 40 hours a week just because we are at work.

And yet, so often, we’re expected to push our feelings aside, keep going and carry on as though everything is the same. But for some people returning to work when they are trying to deal with a loss, is incredibly difficult. Perhaps they are navigating life after the loss of a spouse whilst also becoming a single parent.

We are human first and employees second. Today we are going to explore with a HR consultant Steph Bell and talk about how we can navigate returning to work after loss.

Disasters happen……. tsunamis, terrorist attacks, bushfires, pandemics.
No amount of wishing they didn’t happen makes them go away. But it’s comforting to know there are people preparing for these situations. People like Lucy Easthope.

Lucy has played a vital role in the response to some of the world’s most significant disasters such as 9/11, the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the 7/7 London bombings, the Manchester Arena attack and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic to name but a few.

She is one of the world’s leading authorities on disaster recovery and emergency planning and the author of the book ‘When the Dust Settles'.

Lucy’s work is about far more than logistics. It’s about humanity, care and dignity in the most difficult of circumstances.

And I am absolutely thrilled to have her as a guest on the podcast.

Lucy Easthope

When the Dust Settles

In this episode of Deadly Serious Conversations, I’m joined by Megan Sheldon, a cultural mythologist, a humanist celebrant and end-of-life doula based in North Vancouver, Canada.

Megan has a deep understanding of the power of ceremony and ritual, especially in times of grief and loss. In many cultures, rituals once played a central role in marking life’s changes, yet in our modern world, they are often forgotten, even though they come so naturally to us.

In this conversation, we talk about why rituals matter, how they give us stability in times of uncertainty and how they can help us embody the emotions we feel during life’s most challenging moments.

Megan also shares the inspiration behind Be Ceremonial , the world’s first guided ritual and ceremony app and how simple rituals can help us connect with ourselves, each other and the world around us.

In the words of Dr Alan Wolfelt: “When words are inadequate, have a ritual.”

Be Ceremonial

Be Ceremonial instagram

Seeking Ceremony