Entitlement. We hear this word tossed around a lot these days, and it usually comes with a gnarly connotation. But what if the idea of cultivating entitlement could be uplifting, empowering and hopeful. By definition, entitlement is the fact of having a right to something. A right to what? What is that something? What if I told you that you have the right to a life well-lived, a life of joy - even as a widow.

Tender curiosities:

• Take five seconds to scan yourself - how do you respond to the word “entitlement”?
• How are widows entitled to a fulfilling life? Isn’t suffering part of the package?
• The two most common reasons we get the idea that our life as a widow should be lived in eternal pain, and how we can free ourselves to experience wholeness, healing, and even joy.

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.You do not have to walk on your kneesfor a hundred miles through the desert repenting.You only have to let the soft animal of your bodylove what it loves.Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.Meanwhile the world goes on.Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rainare moving across the landscapes,over the prairies and the deep trees,the mountains and the rivers.Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,are heading home again.Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,the world offers itself to your imagination,calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -over and over announcing your placein the family of things.

Resources:

• Announcing the Self-Discovery Summit for Widows: New Year, New You editionThis January 18-21, 2019, a community of widow sisters will kick off a journey of self-discovery & solidarity that starts in Scottsdale, Arizona and continues virtually long after the retreat ends - and YOU'RE INVITED! It's an all-inclusive retreat immersion - a long weekend haven for top notch nourishment, community, just the right dose of adventure and some lavish luxury too... ...and this is only the beginning! The retreat sets the tone for your cohort of renegade widow sisters to begin a three month journey together that includes: self-discovery, radical self care, and cultivating powerful tools to grieve with intention while connecting to the clarity you crave for the way ahead. Email Sarah Nannen: [email protected] or visit https://hopepersonified.lpages.co/januarysummit/ to apply today!