This week on The Life Shift Podcast, I sat with Dianette Wells, adventurer, author, and mother, to talk about what happens when the thing that was supposed to save you disappears. After losing her son Johnny at 23, Dianette had to figure out how to live in a world that had gone quiet and gray. She did it one trail, one race, one yes at a time.
Listen here and watch on YouTube.
3 Things to Think About
The difference between existing and living is a choice, and sometimes a very small, very hard one. Dianette didn't have a grand plan. She had dogs to walk and a trail she loved. And one day, she noticed she felt disconnected from the ground. That noticing was enough to change the direction of her grief.
Grief doesn't follow a schedule. Dianette says year two was harder than year one, because the shock had worn off and the reality had set in. A lot of us expect to feel better as time passes. Sometimes it's the opposite. And that is not a sign that something is wrong with you.
There is no right way to grieve, only the way that works for you. Plane tickets instead of therapy. Ultramarathons in Sri Lanka. A plant medicine session that gave her five years of healing in one afternoon. None of that is in any grief manual. All of it helped.
2 Things to Ask Yourself
What is the one thing you do that brings you back to yourself, even on the hardest days? Are you protecting time for that thing?
Is there a loss in your life, any kind of loss, where you have been waiting for someone to tell you the right way to grieve it? What would it feel like to give yourself permission to grieve it your own way instead?
1 Thing to Try This Week
Take a walk, a hike, or a drive, somewhere you can be in your body and let your brain slow down. No podcast, no music, no distraction. Just movement. Notice what surfaces. Notice if anything feels a little lighter on the other side.
You can listen to the full episode at www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/s4e237. And if this one hit close to home, I hope you'll share it with someone who might need it.
I created a short-form podcast, “It’s Okay If…” Each episode is under three minutes long and provides a permission slip to be human. I’d be honored if you subscribed to the show. New episodes are released every Wednesday at noon ET.
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