Values and Vision of Friends Along the Road

Free to copy print & distribute. Not for commercial use. Changes prohibited. ©2007 Friends Along the Road Inc.

ON GRIEVING

1. Each person's experience of grief is unique and precious.

2. Grief may be of any intensity, and may last for any amount of time.

3. It is okay to display strong emotion, or none at all.

4. It is okay to refuse the sentiments of others.

5. Some in grief may seek comfort in religion and spirituality. Some may seek comfort in non-religious contexts. Others may not wish to be comforted at a given time.

6. Making a person as emotionally safe and physically comfortable as possible is sometimes the best way to help.

7. It is okay for those in grief to seek healing or resolution, or to not.

8. Family and friends may feel sad that their loved one is grieving. Such secondary grief is real and painful but the primary griever cannot be expected to understand this or have to deal with it.

9. Healing, resolution, and the achievement of positive frames of reference may be possible for those in grief. Caring support can help. 

---

F.A.R.S.I.G.N.

FRIENDS ALONG THE ROAD SANCTUARY
FOR THOSE IN GRIEF NETWORK

* A FAR sanctuary is a place of refuge and caring.

* Offering sanctuary is an act of compassion, not an obligation.

* Sanctuary may benefit those providing it as well as those receiving it. We grow through love.

* Sanctuary can last for a minute, or it can last forever. It's the quality of sanctuary, not its duration or place, that defines it.

* Caring emotional support includes trying not to judge what another person should be feeling, or for how long.

* Giving food, extending shelter, or other resources in a sanctuary is neither required nor discouraged.

* By creating any sanctuary, no matter how modest, we help to create a society having the qualities we demonstrate.

* By making connections and referrals to other sanctuaries, we are able to extend refuge and caring farther on down the road.