What if the mess you've been avoiding is actually the doorway?

In this episode, host Nina Rodriguez sits down with transformational creativity and grief coach Susie Stonefield to explore the powerful connection between grief and creative expression.

Susie believes creativity isn't a luxury or a talent reserved for the few. It's a birthright. And in times of loss and healing, it can become one of our most powerful companions.

Together, they explore how art-making without rules, outcomes, or expectations creates space for emotional healing and truth to surface. They move through grief in its many forms: the death of loved ones, identity shifts, coming out later in life, complicated emotions like anger and guilt, and the collective grief so many of us carry in uncertain times.

Susie shares her personal journey through loss and self-discovery, and how those experiences shaped the judgment-free spaces she now holds for others through one-on-one grief coaching and intimate small group "Deep Dives." Her work lives at the intersection of mess and meaning. The messiness of life, she says, isn't something to clean up. It's something to honor.

This episode is an invitation to anyone navigating loss, identity, or the quiet ache of feeling stuck. Pick up the art supplies. Feel what's there. Make something from it. Not to fix grief, but to sit beside it.

This episode explores:

• Why creativity is a powerful companion to grief
• The myth that only “artists” are creative
• Grief beyond death: identity shifts, coming out later in life, and life transitions
• Art journaling as a cathartic emotional practice
• Creating safe, judgment-free spaces for vulnerability
• Honoring anger, guilt, and the full emotional spectrum
• The impact of collective grief in today’s world
• Finding joy alongside sorrow through creative expression
• Why sharing our stories fosters connection and healing

Reflection Invitation:

• What emotion have I been trying to tidy up instead of express?
• What would it look like to create without needing it to be “good”?
• What might emerge if I gave myself permission to make something from my grief?

Connect with Susie Stonefield:

• susiestonefield.com
• Book a Discovery Call
• FREEBIE: Grief & Creativity Workbook
• The Geography of Grief
• Milton Marks Family Camp

Send a text

Support the show

Thank you for listening!

Connect with Nina Rodriguez:

• griefandlight.com
• @griefandlight
• Resting Grief Face on Substack

If this conversation resonated with you:

✅ Share this episode with someone who needs it
✅ Follow Grief and Light so you never miss a conversation
✅ Leave a review! It helps this podcast reach more hearts

Disclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

February 17, 2026 marks a rare cosmic convergence that happens once every 60 years.

In this solo episode, we explore the intersection of grief and the Year of the Fire Horse, a powerful metaphor for riding the uncontrollable momentum of loss while finding your center in the chaos.

We're standing at the threshold of three major energetic events: the Chinese Lunar New Year (Year of the Fire Horse), an Aquarius Solar Eclipse, and a rare planetary alignment that amplifies our ability to speak the truths of grief.

Whether you believe in astrology or not, there's something palpable in our collective.

This episode offers practical rituals, collective practices, and gentle guidance for grievers at every stage of their journey. If you've ever felt like grief is a wild horse you can't control, this conversation is for you.

Key Takeaways:

Grief is more like riding than walking. You can't outrun it or think your way past it.

The Fire Horse rewards courage, not readiness. Take one small brave step toward what your grief has frozen, even if you don't feel ready yet.

Eclipse energy initiates six-month cycles. What you set in motion today—a grief intention, a conversation, a ritual—will carry forward through August 2026.

Your healing is connected to collective healing. The Aquarius eclipse asks: what happens when we stop performing "fine" and bring our grief into community?

Words carry more weight today. Speak your person's name, say the unsayable, let the imperfect words come.

Transformation happens inside containment. If you're in early grief and the "Fire Horse energy" feels like too much, remember the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis. The quiet, hidden work is still transformation.

Fire destroys and illuminates. Grief burns away what no longer serves while lighting the path forward.

Who This Episode Is For

• Anyone navigating the early, raw stages of grief
• Grievers who feel stuck or frozen in their process
• People looking for ways to mark significant dates or thresholds in their grief journey
• Those seeking community around loss
• Anyone who has felt like grief is a wild, uncontrollable force
• Those looking for grief support resources to share

Sources:

Today.com - "What the Solar Eclipse in Aquarius on February 17 Means for Your Sign"

Khanji School - "Year of the Fire Horse 2026: meaning and Chinese culture"

Elle Australia - "What Lunar New Year's 'Year Of The Fire Horse' Means For 2026"

Moon Omens - "Mercury in Pisces 2026: the Language of Soul" and "Solar Eclipse in Aquarius 2026: A New Timeline"

Bonnie Sorsby Astrology - "Aquarius Eclipse February 17, 2026 Deep Dive + Full Guide"

Send a text

Support the show

Thank you for listening!

Connect with Nina Rodriguez:

• griefandlight.com
• @griefandlight
• Resting Grief Face on Substack

If this conversation resonated with you:

✅ Share this episode with someone who needs it
✅ Follow Grief and Light so you never miss a conversation
✅ Leave a review! It helps this podcast reach more hearts

Disclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers

What does grief teach us about how to live, lead, and love? What happens when the work we do in the world meets what we’re carrying inside?

In this episode, host Nina Rodriguez sits down with development practitioner, global thought leader, and poet Carl Manlan, author of i can breathe, for a moving conversation on grief, legacy, resilience, and meaning.

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Video available here

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Carl reflects on how loss reshaped his understanding of resilience, leadership, and what it means to honor those who came before us, and the grief that arises from life changes, transitions, and the unexpected losses that quietly reshape our lives. His poetry became a necessary language for grief, a way to express what policy, strategy, and everyday conversation often cannot.

Nina and Carl explore grief as an experience rooted in love, memory, and connection. They discuss how creativity and poetry can support healing, how personal loss deepens our capacity for service and leadership, and how parental and intergenerational influence continues to shape the way we show up for ourselves and our children.

This episode is a gentle reminder that grief is not just sorrow. It's also about legacy, memory, and the courage to keep breathing. Carl’s poems chart the path between losing and learning to live with loss, offering honesty, tenderness, and the wisdom of someone who has walked this path.

This conversation explores:

• Why “you only grieve what you love”
• Poetry and creativity as vessels for grief
• The connection between loss and leadership
• How upbringing and parental influence shape resilience and service
• Finding joy, gratitude, and meaning alongside grief
• Parenting and legacy: what we pass on to our children emotionally
• Creativity as a survival tool
• The symbolism behind Carl’s poetry and imagery
• Creating space for future generations to express emotion

Key Takeaways:

• Grief is the echo of love; we grieve because we have loved deeply
• Grief is sensory and embodied, living in memory, feeling, and the body
• Poetry and creative expression can hold what logic and language cannot
• Loss can clarify purpose and inspire deeper service
• Honoring loved ones keeps their presence alive; legacy is lived, not just remembered
• Children learn how to carry grief by observing how we do it
• Beauty and sorrow can coexist
• Grief deepens our appreciation for life and what truly matters

Connect with guest, Carl Manlan:

• carlmanlan.com
• Book: i can breathe
• Inside the Blueprint Podcast

Connect with host, Nina Rodriguez:

• griefandlight.com
• @griefandlight

Send us a text

Support the show

Thank you for listening!

If this conversation resonated with you:

✅ Share this episode with someone who needs it
✅ Follow Grief and Light so you never miss a conversation
✅ Leave a review! It helps this podcast reach more hearts

Disclaimer: griefandlight.com/safetyanddisclaimers