The Deep End; An Introduction

There are “7 stages of grief” and in the 7th stage the experts say you might find acceptance & surrender. I’m sure that all the stages are valid because I’ve intimately wrestled with each… but I’m not so sure they all happen chronologically like some experts describe.

No matter the trauma, I consider it most important to prioritize our ability to shift while holding a fire of hope. For instance, if we get stuck in stage 2 (denial / guilt) maybe we don't necessarily have to then go thru stages 3-6 (anger, depression, upswing/empowerment, recalibration/rebuild) sequentially to arrive at 7 (acceptance & surrender).

Mayyybeeee it's possible to take a backroad & who knows, it might just be a short cut that bypasses the traffic of our mind. Sure! over time the other stages might bubble up now & again but if we can figure out a shortcut, we'll keep closer to our fire of hope and stoke it to burn brighter between each dark night.

In my experience this is what music does for humans. Used for centuries as not only a way to pass along pivotal information, tell stories, worship, heed warnings, inspire love & offer grace but it is also a short cut to deep healing. Within a matter of seconds, a song can bypass our mind and hit us straight in the feels... sometimes it's feels we didn't even know were there! Maybe they're new or maybe they have been suppressed, dormant & longing to bubble up for some time...

ON THE CHANCE that the journey is exactly as described; chronologically unveiled, longer, tougher & darker than we ever thought we might be capable to experience…. There's a song for that. An ode to each respective phase. We will allow that feeling to its fullest extent, with courage & faith, holding our hope even in the depths of the searing darkness, until the music guides us out and lifts us into the next stage.

Please note that, as a safety precaution, I will start with the end first.

The end is surrender & acceptance; a ray of sunshine streaming through a crack in the facade, a sunrise after a long night, a small glimmer of hope & trust that we can begin again. There was a time once when you knew it all worked out & really believed that. You weren’t foolish, you were new to the world & of the divine. You just lost it for a little while.

So please gain a new glimpse of how it all ends up okay and learn how to quickly bring it into your spirit. When it’s gut wrenching, you can pull from that glimpse like a memory and say to yourself

“I may not believe it now but I remember what it’s like to be all in and I know I will be able to begin again”. 

-Written by a 100% human LORENA LEIGH just incase you were wondering

STREAM THE DEEP END