Learning to Talk about Loss in Healthy Ways
Palm Beach Atlantic University’s (PBA) Wordship Event on Tuesday, Sept. 23, brought together a timely discussion on grief and loss. Wordship encourages students, faculty, and staff to engage in curiosity and open communication. While today’s culture often uses words to twist truth, Wordship aims to amplify our need to ask deep questions and find answers in community.
This event began with an opening dance depicting the human experience of grief, choreographed by Aliya Rajnic and performed by members of PBA’s dance program. Following the performance, a panel consisting of Jackie Kendall, president of Power to Grow Ministries, Dr. Rose Vassell, director of counseling at PBA, and Aliya Rajnic, local choreographer and stage manager, as well as PBA staff and alumna, each shared wisdom on different ways to process grief. They spoke about the various aspects of loss and healthy ways to find healing. The panel led into breakout sessions for the attendees, allowing students and faculty to come together and converse on this difficult topic. After, there was a brief Q&A session where lingering questions were addressed by the panelists.
Practical Processes
The panel broadly covered the various ways one can pursue healing through biblical, mental, and physical avenues. Each remedy in this holistic path points to our need to voice our grief through different practical applications. In terms of incorporating spiritual wellness, Kendall advocated for leaning on scripture and the character of God, having faith in His plan and the innate goodness of His will. Dr. Vassell encouraged seeking aid from those around you and from a professional who can offer verbal support and guidance on managing painful circumstances. In terms of physical healing, Rajnic explored the importance of embodiment, predominantly in the form of dance. She described how dance provides a pathway to healthily express grief, both to ourselves and to others, when words fall short.
A Healing Space
Events like Wordship are essential to academic and spiritual life at PBA as they create a space for people to come together and learn how to gracefully question and discuss difficult topics. In a time where human connection often seems surface-level, it is meaningful to find an environment where professionals offer applicable advice on how to reenter a state of spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. Students, staff, and faculty alike are reminded that communicating with both God and others, with words and without, is pivotal as we pursue healing.
Learn more about Wordship and future events.
