00:12I am here for the most part because when I heard about Celebration Day I was delighted,
00:18which probably sounds counterintuitive, but I have long waited for something like this
00:25where we can really open the conversation up about grief and loss and in a celebratory way.
00:31And I don't think there's a single soft thing about the word Celebration, I think that's a huge word.
00:36We use Celebration for the very best joyful moments in life, for the high days,
00:42and to connect that with grief and death is a very bold, brave and a wonderful thing in my opinion
00:50because that's exactly where they should be.
00:52There's nothing to celebrate more than the fact that you were lucky enough
00:56to love someone so much that you grieve them so deeply.
01:03The poem I would love to share today, if I may, is a very tough decision to make, which poem
01:10to share,
01:11but I'd like to dedicate this one to my music teacher, Jan, Mrs Calder,
01:17who is one of those humans who is so larger than life in life
01:23and therefore continues to be larger than life in death.
01:28And the reason that I've chosen this poem is because grief and love are two sides of a coin.
01:34If you can flip it to love on the good days and remember all the love,
01:39then it's wonderful, it really, really transports you from quite a dark place.
01:45And on the days when you can't flip it and it remains grief,
01:48the acceptance of grief being, you know, completely normal and actually a wonderful thing,
01:54so representative of the love that you have, then that's okay too.
01:58And this poem is called Love Came First.
02:04You don't move on after loss, but you must move with.
02:10You must shake hands with grief, welcome her in for she lives with you now.
02:16Pull her a chair at the table and offer her comfort.
02:20She's not the monster you first thought her to be, she's love.
02:25And she will walk with you now, stay with you now, peacefully, if you let her.
02:32And on the days when your anger is high, remember why she came.
02:38Remember who she represents, remember.
02:44Grief came to you, my friend, because love came first.
02:49Love came first.
02:56Why is grief such an important topic for you?
03:00This is a very, very big question that I'm always thinking about.
03:05I think every single human being faces grief.
03:09It's one thing that will connect everyone, bar none.
03:13And we don't talk about it, which has always amazed me from a very young age.
03:18But I think if you're an anxious person, which I have been for most of my life,
03:23anticipatory grief is a big thing as well.
03:26And the quickest way to make anything lighter and easier to handle is to talk about it more.
03:34And one of the best ways of getting through layers and layers of small talk and social niceties and all
03:41of that is poetry.
03:42Poetry cuts through all of that.
03:44I have always wanted to talk more about grief, which is not something that you admit in a crowded room.
03:51It doesn't make you very socially attractive.
03:54But I just think we need to help one another through it more.
03:57It takes a village to raise a child to do most things.
04:01And I think it takes a village to grieve our loved ones as well.
04:06Let's pray.
04:06Let's pray.
04:10Let's pray.
04:14Let's pray.
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