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So many people in my life in 2016 were grieving it's difficult to track them all.\nSome of them lost a family member. \xa0Some lost a pet. \xa0And some were grieving over their lost candidate after the election. One of the things that most of us have to deal with in retirement is grief – either our own or someone else's. \xa0What do you say to someone who's grieving? \xa0That's exactly what I asked Natalia Volz and the answer may surprise you.\nNatalia Volz is the founder of Passing Through Grief and the RELIEF Process.\nShe helps individuals who feel lost and down after experiencing a significant loss or change in their life such as a death, divorce, or children leaving home to heal their pain so they can rebuild their life and find renewed purpose.\nShe has\xa0first hand experience with loss and grief.\xa0 In 2010, after a two-year battle with cancer, her\xa0husband died at the age of\xa049. Lost, alone, and very frightened, she\xa0eventually found her\xa0way through the devastating pain of loss and grief.\nThere is a lack of understanding and a fear in our culture about loss and grief, and she\xa0found herself struggling to find help to get through. She\xa0worked diligently to move beyond her\xa0own grief and on to living happily and purposefully. \xa0 Natalia\xa0read every book she\xa0could get my hands on, took courses on the subject, and completed grief recovery certification training, and in the process became passionate about making a difference in the way our society deals with loss, change and grief.\nIt's easy to tell that she feels passionate about getting out accurate information on a subject we normally avoid but all have to confront first hand at some point\xa0in our lives.\nI asked Natalia, “What do you say?” \xa0I know that I'm always at a loss for words when I'm confronted with someone who is grieving, because I know that nothing I say or do is going to bring their wholeness back. She had a very interesting answer: \xa0 Be a heart with ears.\nFor the person who is grieving, she said that time does not heal all wounds. \xa0The person suffering a loss needs to talk about it. \xa0Keeping busy does not heal. So what\xa0do you say to someone who's grieving?\nNatalia gave us some steps to take to\xa0help with our own grief:\n\n* Find a place to talk about the feelings of loss.\n* Write about your feelings about the loss.\n* Connect with others. \xa0See if there is one friend who will listen to how you are feeling. \xa0Tell them you just need to talk, and to have them listen.\n* Say it or write it while you are feeling the emotion.\n* Grief causes a lot of energy. \xa0Move through it through your body. Don't stuff it. \xa0Take a walk if you can.\n* Listen to music that makes you cry. Get your tears out. \xa0Crying releases a stress hormone that actually\xa0helps you release the stress. \xa0Don't worry, you can't cry forever. \xa0Normally it takes about 15 minutes and then you feel better.\n* Writing really helps with the relief process.\n\nSo what do you say to someone who's grieving? \xa0For dealing with others, remember you can't fix it so don't even try. \xa0Be a heart with ears. \xa0If your friend is telling you about some guilt that they might feel, don't discount it by saying “He knew you loved him”, instead say something like, “I can imagine that would be really\xa0painful. \xa0I can't imagine what that would feel like. \xa0Tell me more”.\nNatalia gave us some excellent advice, but unfortunately my internet went out right when we were wrapping up the show. \xa0I hope to have her come back someday because what she had to say was so valuable. \xa0The good news is that we were wrapping up, about to give out her contact information, which we have below.\nIf you'd like to contact Natalia, you can reach her at 877-606-0909 or Natalia@PassingThroughGrief.com\nHer website is http://Pa...