I sat down with author and executive coach Laing Rikkers to explore how quiet rituals, creativity, and the natural world can become anchors during our deepest seasons of loss. When Laing’s younger sister died suddenly just months before the world shut down, she found herself searching for a way through overwhelming grief. What began as simple morning walks and unfiltered “morning pages” soon unfolded into Morning Leaves, her beautiful collection of plant-inspired poems and reflections.

Laing shares how slowing down helped her reconnect with herself, how creativity became a lifeline, and how she gently released the guilt she carried around her sister’s passing. She also offers the powerful checklist she uses to return to balance when life feels heavy: sleep, eat, steep, walk it, talk it, write it, and pay it forward.

What You’ll Learn:

• How simple daily rituals can create space for healing
• Why connecting with nature helps regulate the nervous system and ease emotional overwhelm
• How creativity (even if you’ve never seen yourself as “creative”) can transform grief into meaning
• How to recognize, release, and forgive the complex guilt that often comes with sudden loss
• How finding purpose after loss can keep our loved ones present in our daily lives
  

 Connect with Laing Rikkers:

• Get the 2nd Edition of Laing’s book Morning Leaves: Cultivating a Life of Beauty, Meaning, and Joy: https://bookshop.org/p/books/morning-leaves-meditations-on-beauty-and-joy-laing-f-rikkers/f8c694a6cc939b5a?ean=9781636284729&next=t&next=t&affiliate=177
• Connect with Laing on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/laing-rikkers
• Follow Laing on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morning_leaves_and_poetry/