Breaking news: " She was a generous person she helped people in need economically and spirituality god bless her always"
"I feel so incredibly blessed to have been able to call him my grandpa"
"Jim was like a second father to me and a grandpa to my daughter"
"I spoke to them at least everyday"
"She cared for him during his time in hospice"
"I am looking forward to having a sweet reminder of the people I am missing so much"
Breaking News- how many times have we heard that within the first month of 2025, within the last 5 years, within the last 25 years? It seems like we are experiencing more death and tragic stories than ever when in reality we are just witnessing them at the palm of our hands in record numbers.
When I take the time to reflect on my past experiences and delve into the myriad of BinaBear stories that individuals have shared with me throughout the years, I find myself captivated by the rich tapestry of human emotion woven into each narrative of grief, heartache, joy, gratitude, and remembrance. These stories often revolve around the cherished memories with their loved ones, the profound joy that accompanies moments of togetherness, and the bittersweet nostalgia that can arise from recalling times spent with those who have left an incredible mark on their lives. Alongside these recollections, there is also an undeniable presence of pain—pain that individuals have experienced personally, as well as the pain they have witnessed in the lives of others.
Each story, while unique in its details and circumstances, resonates with universal emotions that many can relate to. The quotes I have gathered (top of the page) from seven different individuals illustrate this beautifully. They encapsulate a range of feelings, from the warmth of love and connection to the recollection of moments that can never be replaced. When one compiles these quotes and reads them in succession, it becomes increasingly apparent that they kind of form a cohesive narrative. So natural that these quotes are so intertwined that it feels as though they could belong to a single family, rather than seven distinct ones. And when I place breaking news at the forefront of each quote, it allows me to gain control of what I deem in my life as news worthy beyond the bombardment of constant news/articles- causing emotional fatigue and burnout.
Grief, mourning, and tragedy, is nothing new to the human experience. Yet, we live in a culture that doesn't allow room for it to breathe; to beat. Although it's rhythm that changes and feels different as you live and get older, it is always there to remind you that you are still alive. Every tragedy we experience whether it's a worldwide pandemic, a horrific fire that wipes out countless homes and humans, or the unexpected death of someone we love- we are expected to move on with work and with daily life. We are expected to rebuild immediately after the event is "over." Now, with increased access to information from all over the world at the palm of our hands, we are bombarded with multiple news headlines every single day of more death, and more grief and more death, and more grief, and shootings and attacks and threats and................... more grief. It's exhausting. It’s overwhelming. So we choose to escape when really the world just yearns for a pause.
Creating these memory bears for folks has been grounding and quite healing. I have experienced the death of a loved one as early as 2 years old and have often wrote about it in my journals throughout my childhood. At some point though, my voice was stifled by the discomfort of others or the taboo atmosphere surrounding death, grieving, and loss. With BinaBears, I hope to continue to shine a light on the pain and allow joy to flow through in a creative way- both are needed to protect the essence of humanity.
As a culture, in the age of technology and quick bursts of fragmented media displayed on our smart phones, we hold the incredible power to pause ourselves, reshape the narrative surrounding death and grief in our lives, and find ways to cope. Breaking news- actually this is nothing new. Did you know that if you just google, "Gees Bend Quilters", "How Native Americans and Enslaved Africans in the south coped with grief", or the Moldovan holiday "Paștile Blajinilor," you will come to find that these are just a few out of thousands of traditional and historical examples of how human beings from different/same cultures around the world intentionally gather to commune, pray, eat, and use their creativity to feel their mourning's pulse. A rich history surrounds us all, guiding us in connecting with the spiritual unknown, building bonds with one another on earth, and illuminating the joy that is birthed through art and creativity even in the midst of chaos.
If that is some of the history we can learn from, where do we go from here? Tragedy touches us all, forever leaving lasting impacts on our hearts and souls. It's overwhelming to be aware of every event happening all at once each day, and it can potentially desensitize us. However, in America, we have an opportunity to relearn the language of grief and mourning in this digital age—one that resonates deeply and offers genuine comfort, rather than recycling the same phrases over and over on social media posts that often feel hollow or unthoughtful.
This isn’t about casting blame on those who struggle to find the right words when discussing death and mourning. There are many voices on platforms dedicated to guiding us back to what was already built within us in how we cope with death. We need to amplify those voices. This is a heartfelt invitation for all of us to tap into those innate cultural, community traditions that have been lost overtime in order to shift how we communicate about death and grief as a whole society. I truly believe that the coming years are pivotal for our collective well-being and survival. We are going to continue to witness and experience death and tragedy and it's up to us on how we process and respond to it. And in these times of overwhelming division, strategic maneuvering, and the evil spread of hateful rhetoric that permeates the current "leadership", coupled with the rise of technology, we must confront the reality that while humans often shy away from pain, keeping our grief bottled up and distracted can take an even heavier toll on our bodies, minds, and spirits than we realize. I have been there, I needed help, and I was blessed enough to have received help by connecting with God, a therapist, my family, and with communities that provided safe spaces for me to feel and express my pain through my art and creativity.
I invite you, from one human to another, to imagine and take part in a world where we have the ability to speak about our grief with the same openness and enthusiasm as we do when discussing our upcoming vacations or the latest viral sensation on TikTok, or even a political headline that we saw on the news. What if we could share our experiences of loss in a way that feels natural and inviting? What would it look like if we gave room for grief and mourning everyday for our loved ones and for ourselves even long after the event happened? What would that do to our spirits, or our mental health as a culture? Would we feel less lonely? Would we invite and sit with pain together? Would we hold one another? Would we finally unite and celebrate life?
I am choosing to believe so. I see it in my own life, in the testimonies of BinaBear customers, and in organizations who's mission is to help shift the way America handles our grief. I do believe that communing together and sitting in our grief as a community and as a culture could profoundly change our overall well being in this country; especially when going through tragedies. Connection is part of our human nature, even if it is just with one or two people. That is how I see all of us moving forward and surviving the best way possible.
At this moment in time, I am just here to share what I have observed, encourage folks to share their own grief and stories of their loved ones, create meaningful memory bears to help folks navigate their grief, and document how the power of compassion and communal connection helps us along our healing journey through the course of time. Through BinaBears and beyond, I hope to keep moving towards discovery and curiosity in imagining a new world where we can actually feel our own pulse; mourning's pulse.
In light of the tragedy and suffering that is happening all over over the world, which will honestly never end until the day our spirits are called home, I invite you to sit down with a loved one or just with yourself, whichever is most comfortable, and watch this short 5 minute documentary.
I created this short documentary titled Mourning's Pulse to briefly explore both the personal and collective aspects of grief. I interviewed two folks who have experienced a lot of death and grief in their lifetime and was interested in listening to their emotions, their thoughts, and shared grief that enable them to continue to live and grow. It’s a story of hope, memory, shared experience, and serves as a reminder that even in mourning, we can find the pulse of life, together. I hope to expand dive deeper on this project one day, but for now, I pray it serves as a reminder to share what is on your mind to someone you trust and to love on your people every single day. Our lives are so precious and fleeting. So, together, let’s embrace what truly matters: Connection, love, and the stories we carry in our hearts as we continue to live.
Some Helpful Grief/Death Resources for when you just need to feel your own Mourning's Pulse:
Chocolate Yoga Destinations: (San Diego Black Owned Business) Faatima Harley is a wife, mother, veteran, and performing and healing artist who is a fan of joy and bliss. She is passionate about helping others find their way to self care and self love through yoga, meditation, sound healing and energy healing. Her mission is to show the world that yoga is for all people and to spread love and healing through sound vibrations.
The Dinner Party: A platform for grieving young adults to find peer community and building lasting relationships
The End Well Project: A Non-profit organization on a mission to transform the end of life experience, offering guides from various grief and medical experts as well as real life testimonies from other humans that offer wisdom surrounding the end of life.
Black Girls Grieve: An Instagram Platform where Katherine Searcy, M Div, LICSW, Grief alchemist is creating a culture of embracing grief from a Black and Brown perspective. She also offers retreats where folks can gather and release their grief and feel.
Achieve your True Potential: A Group Practice dedicated to counseling, hypnosis, subconscious change, and well-being.
Comments