Saturday Morning Message: "Listen.Learn.Love."

Good Morning,

We are grateful that you connect with us each week and that the Saturday Morning Message has been a source of hope and comfort to you along your grief journey. At TAPS, we welcome and support all those grieving the loss of a military loved one, no matter how they died. This includes thousands of survivors of military suicide loss to whom we offer hope, healing, and renewed opportunities for personal growth. 

September is Suicide Prevention Month and TAPS will be focusing a lot of our messaging around this important campaign. Our theme for September is “Listen.Learn.Love.” and, no matter how your loved one died, these three words can have a powerful impact on your grief journey or that of a peer.

This week, survivors share with us how they have put these three concepts into action since the death of their loved one and how these simple acts have led to hope and healing.  

Hugs,
Carol Lane
Mother of Bryon

Responses from Survivors to last week's question

As survivors, how have you put the concepts of "Listen.Learn.Love." into action, either in your own grief journey or in support of another survivor to bring hope and healing? 

From Robin, mother of Steven:I remember finally having enough courage to go to my local TAPS gathering. I was sure I would be the only one there who lost my loved one to suicide. I was wrong. We were the majority. Hearing the stories of what others had been through helped me see I wasn’t alone. There were many tears and many more hugs. And love. So much love. 

From Merry, mother of Wesley: I think listening would remain high on my list if I were getting together with someone who lost a loved one. It would not be the only approach as I would respond to what they were saying as well.  

From Laura, spouse of Greg:  I believe that being understanding and non-judgmental is important to responding to another's loss. I also believe, as a true friend, we should always reach out in kindness and check on one another from time to time. We all deal with and grieve our losses differently. This is important to understand. Sometimes, it's important to take a step back and give space if you are unsure what to offer someone. However, the best advice is to always remain as kind as possible. 

From Lesia, mother of Christopher: As far as what I would offer another person who lost a loved one, I would genuinely look into their eyes, hold their hands, compassionately say how sorry I am and bless their strength for acknowledging their loved one and their own grief and sorrow. All too often, in my case, people stood as far away as possible from me (as if I were contagious). They felt uncomfortable and couldn’t wait to end the conversation and step away. For a grieving person, having their hand held or a tight long-lasting and meaningful hug could mean the world to a person with an empty and broken heart.  

If you would like to send a message thanking one or all of those who participated in this week’s Saturday Morning Message, send it to online@taps.org and your thoughts will be passed along to them. You never know how your words may touch the heart of another.

Question for Next Week’s Saturday Morning Message 

Labor Day starts the fall/winter holiday season. The holidays can be a stressful time for those who are grieving, especially this year with the pandemic. Sometimes, it is good to make a plan before the upcoming events, so the question this week is: What traditions do you plan to keep or what new ones would you like to create for the upcoming holiday season? This will be helpful to others, especially new survivors who are going through their first holiday season without their loved one. We look forward to your thoughts. 

The Saturday Morning Message was created so survivors can share questions and read how others respond. Questions for future messages are always welcome. You can reply to this message or email online@taps.org In order to have your reply included the following week, it is best to send your response by Tuesday morning. Thank you to everyone responding this week and those who read this message.

Song for the Week

When you submit a song and it appears in this section, a survivor, Andy, father of Danny, will add it to a free playlist on Spotify for our community to access. This list contains the songs that have appeared in past Saturday Morning Messages along with a few other songs special to him. The playlist is called TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) Songs of Love and Remembrance.

You can send me favorite songs for this song of the week section at online@taps.org and include a note about why the song is meaningful to you.

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