I took a little sabbatical around here. An unexpected one. A grief sabbatical. After a trip to North Carolina, we lost our cat Fiona, unexpectedly in the middle of the night to congestive heart failure we didn’t know she had. A 14 year old ragdoll, who was beyond fluffy, fabulous and looked five years old right up until she didn't. She was beloved by our family. She died two days after the anniversary of my mom's passing. Of the same thing my mom died of. So yep, it’s been a lot. But this episode isn't really about Fiona, or my mom, or even me. It's about the fact that grief is the elephant in the room for most of us, and we just don't have good ways to move through it together anymore. We've lost the rituals. We've lost the ceremony. We're expected to, like, just keep going. And most of us do. And most of us are carrying a lot because of it. Grief is about so much more than death or the loss of a loved one. It's about losing a role, losing your freedom, losing the world you thought your kids were going to grow up in. It's about the friend who moved away, the version of yourself you had to say goodbye to, the hope that quietly went missing somewhere along the way. I've been in the world of grief my whole life. My dad was a pastor who did funerals. I've walked my parents home. I've sat with people who were passing. I've held the hands of an elder who had lost hope and let him cry. I know this territory. And I think it's time we talked about it differently. 3 Things You’ll Take Away: Grief has more forms than we name. Loss of a person, yes. But also loss of a role, an identity, a possibility, a version of the world you counted on. If you've been feeling something you can't quite call grief, this episode might give it a name.We're missing our rituals for this. Other cultures and other eras built ceremony around grief. We largely haven't. And that absence is costing us more than we know. This episode is an invitation to change that.Let grief do what it needs to do. It's a rock tumbler. Who you become inside it is someone you'd never want to give back. That doesn't make it less hard. It makes it worth staying for. ⏰ Timestamps (00:00) The grief sabbatical — why we've been gone (03:00) Fiona, the ragdoll cat, and what we lost (08:00) Watching my boys bury her — and what that did to me as a mother (13:00) Stewardship — a word you're going to hear more of from me (16:00) The rituals we're missing around grief and death (19:00) Anderson Cooper's grief podcast and why it took a CNN anchor to open this conversation (21:00) The many forms grief takes — it's not just about death (25:00) The mediumship evening — and the elder who had lost hope (27:00) Sitting with him, holding his hands, letting him cry 🔗 Connect with Robyn Ivy 🌿 Instagram – @robynivy 🧠 Website – www.robynivy.com 🎧 The Robyn Ivy Podcast – Listen on Apple | Spotify 💌 Email – robyn@robynivy.com ✨ Want a fresh set of eyes on your lens? Book an Intuitive Clarity Session: robynivy.com/clarity Want to connect with a loved one who has passed? Book a Mediumship Session: robynivy.com/mediumship Taking new 3-month and 6-month mentoring clients. Email me at robyn@robynivy.com Business owners who could use an intuitive edge: same place. robyn@robynivy.com About Robyn Ivy Robyn Ivy sees people for a living. A trusted mentor, intuitive, and fierce advocate for a creative life, she spent over 20 years as a commercial photographer — honing her powerful skills as a witness. She guides clients 1:1 through transitions, deep growth, and meaningful change. Her workshops, groups, and programs give you the insights and practices to live more confidently, creatively, and from your truest wisdom. You'll often find her traveling in a camper van, sitting with the trees, or capturing the beauty of nature. Raising her now-grown sons Rook and Cole has been the greatest joy of her life.
