Transcript of Audio:

Activation Thought Exercise: Navigating the Waves of Grief

(Casey Cole Corbin | From Good to Great)

Breathe in slowly
…
and let it out even slower.
[Longer Pause]
Again…
Breathe in
…
and let it go
[Longer Pause]
Nothing to fix right now.
Nothing to change.
Just space.
[Longer Pause]

This is not about escaping grief.
This is about making space for it to move.
Grief doesn’t mean you’re broken.
It means something mattered.
[Longer Pause]

Grief isn’t a mistake.
It’s not a sign you’re behind.
It’s just proof that you loved, that you felt, that you showed up fully.
[Longer Pause]

Let your mind begin to drift now.
Just soften.
[Longer Pause]

And in a moment…
I’m going to ask your mind to do something strange.
Not because it matters if you do it perfectly—
but because the process of trying helps us get beneath the surface.
[Longer Pause]

Start to count backward from 100 by sevens.
100
[Longer Pause]
93
[Longer Pause]
86
[Longer Pause]
…and the more you try…
the more you notice the effort becoming less important than the letting go
[Longer Pause]

Your conscious mind can tangle itself up in the numbers,
but your deeper self is already somewhere softer
somewhere deeper
somewhere a little more open
[Longer Pause]

If you lose track…
good.
If you keep counting…
also good.
Either way…
you’ve already begun
[Longer Pause]

Breathe again
Let your body settle a little more
[Longer Pause]

There’s no ladder to climb here.
No timeline to meet.
Grief is not linear.
Some days you move.
Some days you lay down.
Some days you feel like you’ve gone backward.
But there is no backward.
Only remembering and re-learning.
[Longer Pause]

Grief isn’t here to stop you.
It’s here to ask:
What will you carry forward?
[Longer Pause]

There was a man who carried a heavy backpack everywhere he went.
He said it was filled with memories of someone he loved.
Photos. Smells. Sounds. Regrets.
And every time he carried it, it broke his back a little more.
[Longer Pause]

One day someone asked him,
“What if you didn’t have to carry the weight to keep the memory?”
At first, he resisted.
But eventually, he realized—
he could set the bag down.
He could keep the memories
and lose the pain
[Longer Pause]

He walked away lighter.
Not because the love was gone
but because the burden had shifted
[Longer Pause]

And maybe your story is not so different.
[Longer Pause]

Grief and love are not opposites.
They are proof of one another
[Longer Pause]

And you can carry the grief and move forward
or you can move forward and still carry the grief
either way, you're moving
[Longer Pause]

You can feel sadness and find strength in it
or feel strength and know it came from your sadness
either way, your strength is real
[Longer Pause]

Take another deep breath now
Let it fill your chest
[Longer Pause]
Feel your own presence
[Longer Pause]

Now…
imagine there's a part of you
the one who felt the grief the hardest
the one who curled up in that moment
the one who still feels stuck or confused
[Longer Pause]

That part has been carrying a lot
maybe for too long
[Longer Pause]

And now, there’s you—
the version who’s listening now
showing up
curious
willing
[Longer Pause]

Let those two parts look at one another now
no judgment
just presence
[Longer Pause]

Say to that part:
I understand you
[Longer Pause]
I accept you
[Longer Pause]
I love you
[Longer Pause]
I forgive you
[Longer Pause]

And when they’re ready
see them begin to come together
no pressure
just a pull toward unity
[Longer Pause]

Maybe they hug
maybe they just look at each other and smile
maybe they merge
as one self
whole
calm
still holding what matters
but without the ache
[Longer Pause]

You don’t need to carry the sharpness anymore
just the meaning
[Longer Pause]

Now imagine yourself six months from now
You wake up
Your breath is deeper
Your chest is lighter
You still remember
You still care
But the grief is no longer what defines you
[Longer Pause]

You speak their name without the sting
You share the story without the collapse
[Longer Pause]

You’re not “over it”
You’ve just learned how to carry it differently
[Longer Pause]

That version of you is already taking shape
and just by imagining it
your mind is walking toward it
[Longer Pause]

One last breath in
[Longer Pause]
…and release
[Longer Pause]

Now I’m going to count from 1 to 5
With each number
you’ll feel a little more present
a little more in your body
and a little more whole
[Longer Pause]

1 — energy returning to your limbs
[Longer Pause]
2 — breath deepening, spine straightening
[Longer Pause]
3 — awareness growing
[Longer Pause]
4 — eyes preparing to open
[Longer Pause]
5 — eyes open, calm, grounded, here
[Longer Pause]

Welcome back
[Longer Pause]
You’re doing beautifully
[Longer Pause]