“Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love.” – Bradley Whitford

Thank you for making time to read our THMF Newsletter.  The intention of all the hands, minds and hearts that touch the Taylor Hagen Memorial Foundation is for the words, thoughts and resources shared here to bring you insight, perspective, peace and joy in all that you face.

“Never lose hope, my dear heart, miracles dwell in the invisible.” – Rumi

While we know change is a constant in this life.  The world is not the same place it was a month ago.  Things have changed in a rapid and drastic manner in a short amount of time.  We are amid a global pandemic with an aggressive and deadly virus.  The very foundations of economic stability are being tested and tried.  There are quantity limits and supply shortages through out the United States.  Schools have closed, sports have ceased, people who can work remotely are now doing so. Many are without work facing financial uncertainties and struggles to provide for basic survival needs.  While a lot of these items have happened on an ongoing basis, they have not happened in the sheer volume they are now.  If you are in Utah we also had a significant earthquake during all of these other events.  The literally shaking of the earth also shook our mental and emotional stability as we faced yet another crisis filled with uncertainty.

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

​We have been asked, directed and even ordered to limit all contact with others.  Many communities have shelter in place orders only allowing the very minimal activities outside the home.  These are changing and trying times.  Self-isolation can push the limits of emotional and mental stability. 

So, what do we ‘DO’ with these new and often unwanted changes?  How do we handle the ever-moving landscape with all the unknowns?  What is the possibility of emerging on the other side of this more than we were when we entered it?  What is the possibility of loving more, over thinking less, feeling deeper?  

My answer and application will be different from yours.  There is no ONE way to DO any of this.  Like most challenges in life there are healthy and unhealthy ways to manage.  There are coping mechanisms that are better for us than others.  My invitation will always come from a place of choice.  We always get to choose the field of possibilities in how we will respond and handle every situation we are faced with.  As we learn we can adjust how and what we do or don’t do.  It’s a beautiful thing to know it is possible to stand in peace in the middle of the storm because that is what we choose.

You didn’t choose COVID-19.  You didn’t choose an earthquake.  You didn’t choose children out of school now at home.

You can choose who you will be.  Who do you want to be on the other side of this?  Do you want to take things you are learning and have them make you more?  Do you want to simply survive this pandemic?  Do you want to help others, ease another’s pain or need?

Only you can answer these questions.  I am learning things every day.  Some of the things I am grateful for.  Others not so much.  I have learned I need to update my on-hand food supply to be things I like on a day to day basis not just the ‘survival’ foods that could sustain life.  I am learning to plan and use what I have better, to waste less and find new uses for things I might have easily discarded previously.

I have learned I like dehydrating things and making fruit leathers!  I am learning new ways to embrace stillness.  I like guided meditations and am enjoying ones from Zach Rehder & Deepak and Oprah.  I am enjoying using commuting time for me to relax, breath deep and set intentions for my day.

I LOVE being bare foot, working at home in natural light listening to good music.  I LOVE time for reflection without outside events crowding the calendar.  I am grateful for love and to have someone to be in quarantine with who I enjoy.  These things are gifts to me.

I encourage you to find the things that help you feel peace.  Create time and activities that bring you balance.  We don’t know what will be. The only real power and opportunities we have are to live present in this moment.  Create new mindfulness practices. Remember anything from yesterday is a memory. Anything projected into tomorrow lives in the realm of imagination as it is yet to be.

Think about and read things that leave you uplifted.  Watch things that make you laugh.  Limit your exposure to the hard things outside you own walls.  They will still be there.  Stay informed without becoming overwhelmed.  If you find yourself feeling upset at something you are watching, turn it off. Process the emotions as they arise and then work to move to a less frustrated mental and emotional state.  You are the only one who can take care of your mind and heart.  
​
No matter what comes we are all capable of managing and getting through it.  We can do hard things together.

Be good to you!  

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” – Maya Angelou

Hope as defined in the Webster Dictionary is;
“to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true”.

We have all heard saying like Hope Springs Eternal or they Hoped against Hope.  It seems hope it a common thread inside our human existence.

We hear people say they hope things will happen or even hope they won’t.  How many times have you hoped for the best and planned for the worst?

It seems like we are in a place where we are likely hoping for a lot right now.  I hope we don’t get sick.  I hope people stop dying from Coronavirus.  I hope those out of work get back to work soon. I hope all those on the front lines stay well physically, mentally and emotionally.  I hope couples and families grow stronger inside this quarantine time.  I hope kids and parents survive home schooling. I hope people don’t get divorced.  I hope small business will all recover and come back stronger.  I hope there will be Clorox wipes in the store again soon.  I could go on and on.

The definition of hope in several online dictionaries lists it as a noun and verb.  I find that interesting.  What is it for you?

Are the things you are hoping for making you more of the person you are committed to being?  

Are the things you hope don’t happen keeping you stuck in a place of fear and anxiety?

This is a great time for some extra reflection on how you will use hope in your life.

I know as a mother I always hoped my children would grow to adulthood and have happy fulfilling lives. I never thought I would lose a child. I never thought I would hope to understand suicide in a deep and powerful way.  More than hope I longed for peace of mind and heart after my sweet pup Joey took his life.  That tragedy shaped me.  I am still learning and growing inside of who I am now without him. I am always looking for new and meaningful ways to honor that love I still hold for him in my heart.

These new global tragedies present us with opportunities to use hope as a springboard to create new and lasting changes for good.  I am currently participating the Deepak & Oprah Free 21-Day Meditation experience on Hope.  Each day there is a centering thought.  I am sharing some of them below.

“Hope… is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles.” – Samuel Smiles

Perhaps we could follow the directive from Brene Brown to be our best bravest selves during this trying and uncertain time

I wish you everything good. 
All my best,
Genna

COVID-19 hotline at 844-442-5224

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
https://www.usa.gov/coronavirus
https://health.utah.gov/

Contact your insurance carrier or local health department for more resources available to you as a member or in your area.

Bereaved Mother’s Retreat’s sponsored by Cristie North of Taylor Hagen Memorial Foundation and Leigh Anne Garcia of Andrew Garcia Memorial Foundation.

2020 Dates
May 1-3 – New dates and Zoom events to come!
Fall 2020 TBD
Visit www.thmemorialfoundation.org or email [email protected]

RAISING AWARENESS FOR MENTAL HEALTH & SUICIDE PREVENTION
This is the main fundraiser for the Taylor Hagen Memorial Foundation to fund programs and retreats all year. 
Saturday August 1st 2020 Ride Starts at the Sandy Harley Davidson Location.

Friday, June 26 6-9 pm at Skyline High School.  

Anyone in the Utah County area that would be interested in partnering/facilitate with Dawn Christensen.  It is with Compassionate Friends.  
They meet last Thursday of the month at 7PM.  She is looking for help.
Santaquin TCF of Utah County
364 N state Road 198
Santaquin, UT
Dawn – 801-471-7011
[email protected]

You are invited to join LOTUS for our Psychic Fair first Saturday of every Month
Multiple Reader/Healers at Lotus doing mini sessions at $15
LOTUS
12896 S Pony Express Rd Ste 200 
Draper, UT 84020  

Caring Connections
SLC, Midvale & Orem
www.nursing.utah.edu/caring-connections
801-585-9522

What’s Your Grief?
A website about grief & loss & ways to cope.
www.whatsyourgrief.com 

The Sharing Place
Support for families and children 3 ½ and up.
www.thesharingplace.org
801-466-6730

Canary Garden
Helping children in their grief process.
www.canarygarden.org
801-960-2684


American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
www.afsp.org
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Crisis Text Line 
Text TALK to 741741

SafeUT  Crisis & Chat App
The SafeUT Crisis Chat and Tip Line is a statewide service that provides real-time crisis intervention to youth through live chat and a confidential tip program – right from your smartphone.
Licensed clinicians in our 24/7 CrisisLine call center respond to all incoming chats and calls by providing:
supportive or crisis counseling, suicide prevention, and referral 

“You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.”
Irish Proverb 

​Thank you for making time to read our THMF Newsletter.  The intention of all the hands, minds and hearts that touch the Taylor Hagen Memorial Foundation is for the words, thoughts and resources shared here to bring you insight, perspective, peace and joy in all that you face.

For years I have been drawn to Ireland.  I have enjoyed pictures of the lush countryside with every shade of green.  I have read many romance novels of Irish passion and loyalty.  I have watched shows detailing Irish history rich in love and loss.

I took one of those home DNA tests which indicated I had 23% Irish/Scottish ancestry.  Hmm, maybe there is something to the draw I feel to this native land and its people.  One thread in many things I have read and watched is their connection to each other and to the land itself.

With all the technology we now have available in our hands as humans we are more connected than we have ever been.  We can see and hear what is happening around the globe by watching the news, we can access social media and witness events in the lives of people we may not otherwise see for years.  We have connection in spades!

However, are we really connecting?

My grandma used to always say that the worst form of punishment in prison is solitary confinement.  She would say we NEED human connection.  I couldn’t agree more.

So, I encourage you to put down the phone while you eat a meal.  Think about the food, where it came from, whose hands touched it.  Talk to the people with you at the table.  If your eating alone look at those around you.  Make up stories about who they are and what there are up too!

I invite you all to create windows of time where you take a digital detox turning off all screens and connecting.  It could a deeper connection with yourself.  Doing simple breath work in silence can be very balancing.  Connect with those you share space with.  Ask what their favorite things are.  If you are in a relationship, ask the person how you can love them more.  You might be surprised by the answer and the simple ways you are able to deepen your connection.

Have a candle night!  My son Joey and I use to do this.  We would turn off all the lights and just have candles on.  We often talked and listened to music!  It’s a fun simple way to change up the day to day and connect on a different level.

I know that when we shift our awareness by paying attention to our surroundings, we can allow deeper and stronger connections to emerge allowing a new alignment to peace in our minds and hearts.

Have you played this simple board game?  When was the last time you spun the wheel to see if you would climb the ladder or hit a chute?  

I think so much of life is like this game.  We climb metaphorical ladders in our lives.  We gain knowledge and insight with new experiences and relationships.  We get careers and make more money than we use too.  I know as I have gotten older there is a sense of progression that I am moving forward and leaving certain life circumstance behind.

Then there is a slide!  Then life throughs us a curve ball and we feel like we are sliding down a chute not knowing where we might land.  This can happen with a sudden loss of a job, relationship issues, health struggles or the loss of a friendship.  It can come in many forms.

In the game sometimes you climb and climb getting one of the tallest ladders.  You feel as though you are mastering something!  Then a chute comes.  It might be a small chute where you feel like you didn’t lose that much ground.  It might be a long one where it seems like you are starting over.

So how do we do this?  What do we do when life pushes us down a chute when all we wanted to do was climb?  How many times have you said or heard someone say, “I don’t want this?”

Well, there is not one set answer to that question.  I know when my son Joey took his life, I felt like I was going down the longest chute of my life.  It was a chute full of pain, confusion, unanswerable questions.  I cried, I laughed, I yelled, I sat in silence wondering what now.

No matter what life throws at us we can always take a minute to catch our breath.  Re-group and reevaluate where we are. I think when we take some time to do this, we are then better able to clearly chose where it is we want to go.  Do we start a new climb?  Do we stay sideways for a time?  Perhaps we decide to change the game all together!

No matter where you are in your life, in your journey of love or loss I invite you to take a deep breath.  Create some quiet time for your mind and heart to be still.  In this stillness I invite you to listen for the whispers of what your soul longs for!

If you do all this and are still at a loss of what steps to take or where to go next, then just do something.  I have told my children sometimes you just have to move, just have to pick something and do it as only in the activity of living will you then know if its something you want to keep doing or if its time for a change.
I wish you everything good. 

All my best,
​
Genna

Bereaved Mother’s Retreat’s 
Bereaved Mother’s Retreat’s sponsored by Cristie North of Taylor Hagen Memorial Foundation and Leigh Anne Garcia of Andrew Garcia Memorial Foundation.

2020 Dates
February 28-March 1, 2020
May 1-3, 2020
Fall 2020 TBD
Visit www.thmemorialfoundation.org or email [email protected] 

RAISING AWARENESS FOR MENTAL HEALTH & SUICIDE PREVENTION
This is the main fundraiser for the Taylor Hagen Memorial Foundation to fund programs and retreats all year. 
Saturday August 1st 2020 Ride Starts at the Sandy Harley Davidson Location.

4th Annual Andrew Garcia Memorial Match 
Friday, June 26 6-9 pm at Skyline High School.  

Anyone in the Utah County area that would be interested in partnering/facilitate with Dawn Christensen.  It is with Compassionate Friends.  
They meet last Thursday of the month at 7PM.  She is looking for help.
Santaquin TCF of Utah County
364 N state Road 198
Santaquin, UT
Dawn – 801-471-7011
[email protected]

You are invited to join LOTUS for our Psychic Fair first Saturday of every Month
Multiple Reader/Healers at Lotus doing mini sessions at $15
LOTUS
12896 S Pony Express Rd Ste 200 
Draper, UT 84020  

Caring Connections
SLC, Midvale & Orem
www.nursing.utah.edu/caring-connections
801-585-9522

What’s Your Grief?
A website about grief & loss & ways to cope.
www.whatsyourgrief.com 

The Sharing Place
Support for families and children 3 ½ and up.
www.thesharingplace.org
801-466-6730

Canary Garden
Helping children in their grief process.
www.canarygarden.org
801-960-2684


American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
www.afsp.org
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Crisis Text Line 
Text TALK to 741741

SafeUT  Crisis & Chat App
The SafeUT Crisis Chat and Tip Line is a statewide service that provides real-time crisis intervention to youth through live chat and a confidential tip program – right from your smartphone.
Licensed clinicians in our 24/7 CrisisLine call center respond to all incoming chats and calls by providing:
supportive or crisis counseling, suicide prevention, and referral services.