Featured Living/Dying Project Client:
Yvonne
Sebastopol, California
“I am very grateful to have been paired up with Living/Dying Project volunteer Keshava to connect with me, helping me to hold more lightly all the uncomfortable feelings of my lingering health conditions. Together we explore grounding exercises, mantra, guided meditation and spiritual readings. I always look forward to our meetings on zoom. Keshava is very kind, open-hearted, present and available — a true listener. He has a great smile that always cheers me up and is healing in itself. I also value Dale’s heartfelt zooms on Saturdays.”
For a long time I experienced extreme fatigue, exhaustion, and headaches. Usually twice a day I have to lay down for about an hour just to get through the day. About 2 years ago chronic insomnia developed which means my body hasn’t been able to restore itself properly. This has snowballed into gastrointestinal issues, cardiac problems, and neuropathy dysfunction among other things. I’ve been on various medications and they continue to change often. I know this is emotional-related too.
Because I knew it was a place that could support me with compassion and provide emotional support for what I’m experiencing. It’s been so hard to accept these health issues. I believe that if I was somehow more able to embrace the acceptance of this my days would probably be better and that’s what I’m working on with Keshava through the different practices he’s used with me. It supports my daily practice of working with all the discomfort.
Since working with the Project, it gives me hope to have someone on my side, listening to me in a compassionate way. It opens up the possibility to connect with these very difficult places. I don’t feel as alone. I feel there is goodness out there and I’m receiving that help.
In Kristin’s [Conscious Support for Critical Illness] group, I feel a calmness and emotional ease from her talks. I also get to practice compassion for others. It helps my perspective witnessing others working with their difficult situations and for what I’m going through too.
I remember RamDev’s talk on grace and that it is in everything, always here, nothing excluded–that was a new look on life to me and very helpful to apply to my monkey mind.
Due to significant unexpected medical expenses and an excessively long wait for a senior assisted living option, Yvonne currently has a GoFundMe page to raise funds so that she and her cat Bitsy can stay in her current housing.
If you’d like to support, please visit her GoFundMe.
