Dear friends and colleagues in Open Space, Since the passing of my beloved husband, I have needed to put into practice something that I teach 'your grieving will continue and so give it a place inside of you while reognizing you are a whole person'. This has been important advice to now give myself, acknowledging my wholeness inclusive of grief. In recent times. in relation to being in open space, I navigate the space around the grief, acknowledging that as I participate in the open space, I do so around the grief that also has its right to be in the space and yet I can participate in open space around the grief, even with joy and passion. All co-exist in the space when I choose to step into the space. When I open space for myself as I am doing on this solstice day, I move through the space sharing the space with grief, and finding the right best movement forward. When I open space for others, I pay attention to creating space for the whole person, giving time and space sufficient for what the person needs for their processing. For many years, I have taught that everyone is in grief about something, usually about multiple somethings simultaneously albeit in different stages of the grief process for different parts of their lives. This knowledge affects my design of the OST..maybe a time set aside for sharing stories, definitely enough time per session and enough sessions, with sufficient breaks for reflection. Warmly, Birgitt *Birgitt Williams* *Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants * *Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.* www.dalarinternational.com *Upcoming Workshops* *Holistic Leadership Development* | January 5-10, 2026 | Online >> Learn More & Register <https://www.dalarinternational.com/register/hld-2026/> for any of these workshops here. *Go to www.genuinecontact.net <http://www.genuinecontact.net> to see the public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams <birgitt@dalarinternational.com>, via email to set up a consultation to discern what is the best option to meet your development goals.* 16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729 Phone: 01-919-522-7750 Like us on Facebook <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=6677c35b38&e=e7zyhHfiqG> Connect on LinkedIn <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=c26173f86b&e=e7zyhHfiqG>