Embracing the Winter Season: Preparing Our Hearts, Families, and Workplaces for Grief and Healing

Oct 29

4 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

The air is turning crisp, the days are growing shorter, and the land is getting ready to rest. Our grandparents knew winter as a season of preparation: wood stacked, food put away, families drawn close around the fire for stories and teachings. Winter asks us to slow down and to look after one another.

Winter is also, for many of us, a season of loss. It's often during these cold months that our elders and loved ones make the journey home to the Creator. As the holidays come closer, the empty chair at the table can feel heavier than at any other time of year.

Preparing for winter means more than getting our homes ready. It means getting our hearts, our families, and our workplaces ready too.

When Loved Ones Go Home to the Creator

Over 36 years of community work, and through losing six members of my own family, I have learned that grief does not follow a calendar. It comes in waves, and it often returns with the seasons: the first snowfall, a birthday, a song on the radio, a holiday gathering.

Many of our teachings remind us that those who have passed are not gone. They have gone home to the Creator, and they continue to walk with us in spirit. That is the heart of my book, The Sun Never Leaves:

"Even on the coldest, darkest day, the sun has not left us. It is only hidden behind the clouds for a while."

Grief is love that has nowhere to go. When we make space for it, gently and together, we begin to heal.

Simple Ways to Prepare for the Winter Season

For Families

Talk openly about the people you miss. Say their names, share their stories, and keep their memory part of family life.
Plan ahead for hard days such as anniversaries and holidays. Decide together what you will do, and give yourself permission to change traditions.
Create a small ritual of remembrance: light a candle, set a place at the table, smudge or offer tobacco, or share a favorite meal.
Spend time on the land and in the daylight when you can. Fresh air and sunlight help the body carry grief.

For Children

Use the seasons to talk about the circle of life. Winter rest is followed by spring, just as loss is followed by new growth.
Give children ways to express what they feel through coloring, drawing, story, and play.
Keep routines steady, and tell teachers and caregivers when a child is grieving.

For Schools and Workplaces

Expect grief this season. When a community loses an Elder or a young person, staff and students carry it into the classroom and the office.
Agree ahead of time how your team will respond to a death, so no one is left to figure it out alone.
Look after your helpers. Teachers, front-line workers, and leaders carry the grief of others on top of their own.

New Resources to Carry You Through the Season

This fall I have been busy creating new books and tools for families, schools, and communities. Each one is designed to be used together, with children, students, and teams.

Books for Children and Youth

Healing Grief: 25 Exercises for Children Ages 6 to 18. Small, hands-on ways for children to remember, express their feelings, and feel supported. A guide for parents, teachers, and caregivers. Click to order. Healing Grief: 25 Exercises for Children Ages 6 to 18 : Robinson, Lise: Amazon.fr : Books
Grief Warrior: A Coloring Book for Little Heroes. Helping young hearts find strength, hope, and healing. Grief Warrior: A Coloring Book for Little Heroes: Helping young hearts find strength, hope, and healing.: Robinson, Lise: 9798306503806: Books - Amazon.ca
The Sun Never Leaves: A Coloring Book About the Seasons of Life. For little hearts ages 4 to 8, learning about change and the circle of life.
Brave Hearts: Stand Up, Speak Up, Be Kind. An anti-bullying coloring book about courage and kindness.
Miracle Magic Coloring Book. A gentle, calming coloring book for younger children.
Building Together: A Coloring Adventure. Color your way to building thriving communities.

For Adults, Staff, and Families

The Sun Never Leaves: Six Lives, Six Losses, and a Guide to Healing Grief. My memoir and guide, written from 36 years as a social worker and from my own journey through grief.
The Grief Warrior Program Workbook. The companion workbook for participants in the Grief Warrior Program.

Training with the New Tools: My Winter Availability

I am now booking training for schools, First Nations communities, health and social service agencies, and workplace teams this winter. Every session uses the new books and tools, so your people leave with resources they can keep using.

Grief Warrior Program. Practical grief education for community members and helpers, with the participant workbook.
Grief-Informed Charter Training. Helps leaders and teams build shared language, simple practices, and policies for responding to loss at work.
The Sun Never Leaves Workshop. A healing workshop built on my book, closing with a memorial ceremony to honor loved ones.
Resources for Schools. Staff sessions on supporting grieving students, using Healing Grief and the children's coloring books in the classroom.
Community Building and Resilience. Bringing people together after loss, using Building Together and the Masters Community Building Toolbox.

Sessions are offered in person and virtually, as a single day or a series. All of my work is delivered as education and training.

Let's Walk Through This Winter Together

Whether you are a parent getting ready for the first holiday without someone you love, a teacher supporting a grieving student, or a leader whose team has just lost a colleague, you do not have to do this alone. Reach out.

I would be honored to walk with you.