- NOTES FOR REFLECTION -

on Parental Grief and the Value of The Compassionate Friends (TCF) Working to Fulfill our Hope: "NO REGRETS - NO DESPAIR"

SOME THINGS WE RECEIVE:

(1)Outpouring of support

(2)Remarkable compassion and encouragement

(3)Demonstration of the abiding power of hope

WHY WE ATTEND:* *Hunger for help from hopelessness, lost feelings and despair

WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN OTHER BEREAVED PARENTS:

(1) Those willing to encounter others’ sense of bewilderment and to continue to be there in order to help rebuild lives that have been crushed by loss.

(2) Those willing to press on in spite of the personal trauma of their own loss or losses. Those with ideals, integrity and the vision which embodies hope and is dedicated to an ideal still in the future.

(3) Those who are compassionate and great enough to rise above their own pain and grief in order to help and inspire others, yet humble enough to really listen and to be inspired by others.

(4) Those willing to embrace each other as models of persistence, faith, dignity, and passion to our cause of promoting concern, and ongoing support and caring for others.

(5) Those willing to accept the challenge that is worthy of inspiring others and dedicating ourselves to building a chapter that is working to fulfill the hope that others see in us.

* *WORKING TO FULFILL OUR HOPE: "NO REGRETS, NO DESPAIR"