Welcome back to Restorative Grief with Mandy Capehart. You are listening to a bonus episode for premium subscribers, titled, “The Practice of Curiosity with Derek Myers.” Loss of our faith practices and beliefs is a sorely misunderstood topic. While most of us wonder at any given moment how concrete our beliefs may be, we also experience some level of uncertainty in our faith as well – and we all know how much our faith is challenged when we are grieving. We often talk about how to move through the uncertainty of life while grieving, but we don’t often address loss of faith directly and how curiosity can serve us well with every heavy experience. So I’m really excited for you to gain insight about curiosity and faith from my guest today, Derek Myers. Derek is one half of the popular Instagram page @Your Favorite Heretics, along with his wife Rachel. His own approach to faith has shifted significantly over the last few years of life, leaning toward the fluid approach of curiosity over the rigidity of certainty. This conversation felt like catching up with an old friend, so I hope you’ll enjoy Derek’s perspectives as much as I did.
Thank you for listening to this bonus episode of Restorative Grief. The secondary loss of our faith in the wake of other grief or traumatic events is such a painful space to approach. I know I related a lot when Derek mentioned shelving his questions that caused cognitive dissonance. The unraveling of our entire belief system is not out done out of malice, but with the intention of finding congruence and clarity. And yes, it is often a very isolating, scary prospect. But more than anything, I hope you heard the hope in Derek’s story about building ourselves up around a gathering of curious people – those willing to be uncertain, unclear, or simply in process. Because if I know anything about grief, it’s that we are living out a very VERY ongoing process. There’s no reason for us to do it alone.
If this is your first premium episode of Restorative Grief, thank you so much for choosing to partner with me in this work. For some, this is the only access to grief support they get. Whether living in a care desert where providers are few and far in-between, or simply lacking access to support for reasons of income or safety, Restorative Grief and the subsequent arms of this work create a safe place for grievers to fall apart. Your financial support makes it possible.
Be sure to check out the show notes to connect with Derek or myself on Instagram or Twitter. I’ve also included links to the book Derek mentioned on the show as well as to learn more about The Restorative Grief Project and other resources available to grievers. Take a few minutes to check those out and leave a review while you’re at it! Your reviews genuinely help grievers know this is a helpful resource for what they may be going through.
And one last thought: Please remember, the only solution for grief is to do the work of grieving. Thank you for listening. I’ll see you soon.
Links + Resources for this episode:
- Derek on Twitter, & Instagram
- No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz PhD
- Leave a message for Restorative Grief with Mandy Capehart
- Join the Restorative Grief Project
- Purchase my book, Restorative Grief
- Follow & chat with me on Twitter or Instagram @MandyCapehart