I had the pleasure of interviewing John Lodal, a former Hewlett Packard engineer for 32 years and self-confessed problem solver, on what he discovered following the death of his adored wife, Pam, to cancer. Used to thinking analytically and logically, he was unprepared for his world imploding and the storm of emotions he experienced when things quietened down after the funeral. Fortunately, a friend referred him to a wonderful grief counselor, who John refers to as his decoder of grief. What followed is a painful, yet wonderful journey into discovering ways to face the hurt, unleashing his creative talents, and revealing a new, softer side to himself as he got to know and understand his feelings.
The wealth of information John shares is pure gold. His book, A Right Brain Awakening: What grief taught a heartbroken engineer, is aimed at helping left-brained individuals who find themselves lost in the foreign landscape of emotions, though will provide anyone listening with well thought-out perspectives on grief and helpful ways to navigate it. In this episode, John shares this wisdom with a great deal of heart.
John lives in Boise, Idaho. Has 2 children and 4 grandchildren. He is a musician, a rotarian, a member of the board of directors of the non-profit Semilla Nueva, and has a great desire to leave his hometown, and world at large, better than he found it 💜
Highlights of this episode include:
[00:05:04] Pam crossed the Rainbow Bridge. And my, my world exploded and I had a lot of things I had to figure out in terms of moving forward without without my true love by my side
[00:06:58] I was so focused on being the best caregiver I could. There were so many things that that Pam needed. And I can tell your listeners that when your own last lap comes, look into hospice
[00:07:59] And it was after everyone left. That's when I realized I. I am in a position now of something that I cannot do on my own
[00:09:55] Well, you know, there was a lot of questions of faith
[00:11:22] Eight months after Pam died, I came to the conclusion that that part of me died the same day Pam died, and that that is not earth shattering stuff, but I hadn't even thought of it until then. And I believe it was one of those metal circuit breakers clicking back in saying, okay, he's ready for this now
[00:17:08] well, so, I guess I was lucky that Jerri was was particularly well suited to meet my needs. And this is, this is, we had some discussions and this is when I started to recognize that the right side of my brain was starting to wake up
[00:23:02] How am I going to How am I gonna plan out who this new guy is gonna be? I'm not here just to take up space
[00:29:45] I've got I've got a number of points that I like to share with folks. We talked about pain being your new full-time companion.
[00:32:00] And the key on that journey is to keep your eyes and your ears and your heart open
... plus so much more!
Quote:
"This is not about the destination at all. This has everything to do about what you're learning, what you're seeing, who you're interacting with along the way." ~ John Lodal
Resources:
John's link:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.lodal/about_overview
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Website: https://healing2bu.com
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And thanks, Gabe Dovaston for the great music! www.themusicacademypapamoa.com
Do you need help to shift your heartache, grief, guilt, anger, anxiety, dread, or despair? Let's connect - send me a message 💟
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