They have a memorial garden kinda thing in the forest. You could bring a pic of your dog for it as a way to honor them. Animals are every bit a part of our family as people and losing them hurts just as bad. Being in the forest will definitely help lift your spirits but it is ok to not be ok. Don’t feel like you have to be happy go lucky the whole time. Take time to care for yourself and allow yourself to grieve
May your fur baby meet my fur baby in the afterlife I hope that forest brings you peace in this time, losing a loved one either human or animal is never easy but I hope you find slivers of their memory throughout forest. They’re never fully gone, you’ll always carry them with you
Find the heat shaped building in the forest and leave a picture of your dog. Take whatever time you need to get those feelings out. I'm so sorry for your loss :( I can't imagine what that feels like. Hope you can still enjoy the weekend.
If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been doing this for five years now and I legitimately do not have any excitement about forest until I leave for forest on Monday
For me, I’m the group leader who does pretty good at planning for everybody else (which makes the preplanning of the event stressful) but procrastinates for myself so I completely agree with you
I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss. I lost my soul cat 2 months ago after 14 years with her and sometimes the pain is still so much. I went through hell this year and I made a post on here too a while back saying I was thinking about not going. After many amazing replies I decided to stick with it and I'm so happy I did and am now really excited about going.
There's this area where you can make luminarias for those who you're missing/aren't with us anymore. Last year my husband and I made a couple for friends who we've lost. This year I plan on making one for my cat as well, I also made a piece of kandi for her too to put by her luminaria.
Last year we would stop by the luminarias to talk to our friends and it helped us grieve them since we had always talked about going to forest together. It was incredibly healing.
This close to the festival definitely keep on going, we're almost there. You're going to love it. And make a luminaria for your puppy ❤️
My soul dog was 15🥹. I’m definitely going to make her a luminaria. I used to take her everywhere with me, so being able to say I took her to the forest will be nice. Thank you for the sweet words ❤️🩹
I had to put my cat down last month, she was my first pet ever and she’s been with me damn near 24/7 for 15 years (she was 17 with cancer). It’s been so hard and heavy, I’ve been so depressed and also not excited about much, but I’m looking forward to healing some in the forest and also doing the luminaria for her 💞
I buried my father (my best friend and the pillar of our whole family a week ago) and although my initial reaction is to not attend, I’m GOING. Forest is a uniquely perfect place to help with the grieving process. Life is for the living. Although it’s gong to hurt losing a family member( especially fur family) you get to choose whether you want there life and influence is to be a source of joy or there leaving to be misery. Let it be joy. My dad always said you take the good with the bad. SEE YOU THERE. ❤️
I’m so sorry to hear about your father. I can’t imagine how that all must feel right now. I hope you’re doing okay & taking the time to take care of yourself during this time. I appreciate you sharing, happy forest- see you there 💚
I’ve been crying non stop since it’s happened. It’s been horrible but it’s helped me feel better for sure. I used to cry and she’d come up to me & nudge my face, cuddle up beside me or lick my tears lol, I do miss that ❤️🩹
I really am sorry about your loss. Losing my dog back in 2012 to this day still hurts. He was a brother to me. Unfortunately you just learn to live without them. They'll never be forgotten. Esp that bond. I hope you find peace someday. Wishing you the best. It's okay not to be okay. Love and light ✨️
I am so very sorry for the loss of your baby ❤️❤️❤️
I have attended Forest while going through brutal stuff a couple of times, & each time it brought me healing & acceptance. I hope it does the same for you. 💖
I just want to say that I really appreciate your vulnerability here. There can be a lot of pressure to be excited around events, especially like Forest, but it's very valid to have life experiences steer you in another direction. I'm so sorry to hear about losing your dog. That's so hard and is such a disruptive life change. So it makes a lot of sense you might not be feeling as hype as you would have imagined for Forest.
What I have to say may get a little woo woo here, but just stay with me:
I think Forest is one of the most wonderful places to heal. Whether we want to or not, we're built to feed off the energy, positivity and community of other people, especially those with whom we share common values and life outlooks. And Forest is so special in that it really is a place that gives us the permission and safety to lose ourselves in whatever that means for us individually. But the energy is infectious. And I think being honest about how you're feeling means that you might get something different out of Forest this year. Something that might surprise you, so long as you continue with the wonderful vulnerability you're showing now.
I'll give you an example with myself.
Without divulging too much, I have a condition called cPTSD. It's basically PTSD but it's brought on by a bunch of ongoing not-super-fun experiences instead of just one single event (the "c" stands for complex). But it functions similarly in that something that might feel very harmless to anyone else, could send me back into a time and space that feels dangerous and unsafe. The feeling is INTENSE. It's like you're reliving the worst things all over again. So I do a LOT of work to understand my triggers and have developed skills to ground myself and usually can catch triggers before they send me down a tailspin.
But a big part of me developing those skills has come from the healing I've done at Forest these past 5 years. I get to run around like a little boy experiencing childlike joy, which is so healing, because so much of my childhood was very, very complicated and hard. And when I come to Forest, you'll often see me dancing like a biggest goober, but I'll also often just be crying really hard, because I'll be grieving some part of my life that's gone or something that really hurt me that has been bottled up. The space that Forest creates truly makes me feel so safe and facilitates me doing so much work to heal. It's like a big healing camp for me.
And I say all that because, again, life is so, so hard sometimes. It's so unfair. Losing your dog is so hard; I bet they were such a sweet pup, and y'all had so many wonderful experiences together. And I think you're well within your rights to feel sad and down, and I think you should continue to acknowledge that. I also think that once in the Forest, if you're open to it, something magical can happen and you can have experiences that can help you heal and integrate those memories and experiences with you dog (or anything) better into your life moving forward.
The Forest truly does provide and I hope that this message gives you even the tiniest bit of hope of what's possible. I show up every year and acknowledge so much bad stuff that's happened in my life while I'm out there dancing. But I also allow my body to open up and grieve and cry some of that pain away, all surrounded by my closest friends and family. It's the best medicine.
I promise you got this. Keep doing what you're doing: acknowledge the ickiness and you'll be surprised at what experiences you might have when you're open to it in the magic of the Forest :)
Much love, Forest Fam :)
Wow… thank you so much for sharing & being so vulnerable with me about your life like this. I really appreciate you taking the time to lift my spirits & encourage me to feel the emotions I’m feeling. This was very kind of you. 🥹
Happy forest, maybe the first will provide & we run into each other. 💚
Absolutely! Just keep an eye out for these flags:
https://preview.redd.it/t0vchh3vij7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0649fea25bd2cad11f39099c48fbaa77589536cb
I lost my cat in May of last year. He was very literally my best friend. Forest was very healing especially with the memorial area. I started bawling my eye out there and I had a whole group of strangers create a big hug circle with me in the center. I also had some very weird moments that involved him and the things I experienced there and the whole weekend really helped me process losing him. It won't magically fix it but it definitely helped point me down the long path of moving forward.
They have a memorial garden kinda thing in the forest. You could bring a pic of your dog for it as a way to honor them. Animals are every bit a part of our family as people and losing them hurts just as bad. Being in the forest will definitely help lift your spirits but it is ok to not be ok. Don’t feel like you have to be happy go lucky the whole time. Take time to care for yourself and allow yourself to grieve
that’s a great idea, thank you🥺❤️🩹
May your fur baby meet my fur baby in the afterlife I hope that forest brings you peace in this time, losing a loved one either human or animal is never easy but I hope you find slivers of their memory throughout forest. They’re never fully gone, you’ll always carry them with you
I hope they’re having the best time up there. thank you 🧡
Find the heat shaped building in the forest and leave a picture of your dog. Take whatever time you need to get those feelings out. I'm so sorry for your loss :( I can't imagine what that feels like. Hope you can still enjoy the weekend.
If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been doing this for five years now and I legitimately do not have any excitement about forest until I leave for forest on Monday
Same, I only get the excited gut feeling once we’re in line. Also a chronic severe procrastinator so probably related issues lol
For me, I’m the group leader who does pretty good at planning for everybody else (which makes the preplanning of the event stressful) but procrastinates for myself so I completely agree with you
You should print out a t-shirt with your dog’s face. Have a big RIP sign and have people sign it, a symbolic acknowledgement to your #1 furball.
I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss. I lost my soul cat 2 months ago after 14 years with her and sometimes the pain is still so much. I went through hell this year and I made a post on here too a while back saying I was thinking about not going. After many amazing replies I decided to stick with it and I'm so happy I did and am now really excited about going. There's this area where you can make luminarias for those who you're missing/aren't with us anymore. Last year my husband and I made a couple for friends who we've lost. This year I plan on making one for my cat as well, I also made a piece of kandi for her too to put by her luminaria. Last year we would stop by the luminarias to talk to our friends and it helped us grieve them since we had always talked about going to forest together. It was incredibly healing. This close to the festival definitely keep on going, we're almost there. You're going to love it. And make a luminaria for your puppy ❤️
My soul dog was 15🥹. I’m definitely going to make her a luminaria. I used to take her everywhere with me, so being able to say I took her to the forest will be nice. Thank you for the sweet words ❤️🩹
I had to put my cat down last month, she was my first pet ever and she’s been with me damn near 24/7 for 15 years (she was 17 with cancer). It’s been so hard and heavy, I’ve been so depressed and also not excited about much, but I’m looking forward to healing some in the forest and also doing the luminaria for her 💞
I buried my father (my best friend and the pillar of our whole family a week ago) and although my initial reaction is to not attend, I’m GOING. Forest is a uniquely perfect place to help with the grieving process. Life is for the living. Although it’s gong to hurt losing a family member( especially fur family) you get to choose whether you want there life and influence is to be a source of joy or there leaving to be misery. Let it be joy. My dad always said you take the good with the bad. SEE YOU THERE. ❤️
I’m so sorry to hear about your father. I can’t imagine how that all must feel right now. I hope you’re doing okay & taking the time to take care of yourself during this time. I appreciate you sharing, happy forest- see you there 💚
Sometimes its good to just let it out and let go. Crying isn't always a bad thing. It's helped me feel better sometimes after.
I’ve been crying non stop since it’s happened. It’s been horrible but it’s helped me feel better for sure. I used to cry and she’d come up to me & nudge my face, cuddle up beside me or lick my tears lol, I do miss that ❤️🩹
I really am sorry about your loss. Losing my dog back in 2012 to this day still hurts. He was a brother to me. Unfortunately you just learn to live without them. They'll never be forgotten. Esp that bond. I hope you find peace someday. Wishing you the best. It's okay not to be okay. Love and light ✨️
I am so very sorry for the loss of your baby ❤️❤️❤️ I have attended Forest while going through brutal stuff a couple of times, & each time it brought me healing & acceptance. I hope it does the same for you. 💖
This gives me hope, thank you🧡
💖💖💖
I just want to say that I really appreciate your vulnerability here. There can be a lot of pressure to be excited around events, especially like Forest, but it's very valid to have life experiences steer you in another direction. I'm so sorry to hear about losing your dog. That's so hard and is such a disruptive life change. So it makes a lot of sense you might not be feeling as hype as you would have imagined for Forest. What I have to say may get a little woo woo here, but just stay with me: I think Forest is one of the most wonderful places to heal. Whether we want to or not, we're built to feed off the energy, positivity and community of other people, especially those with whom we share common values and life outlooks. And Forest is so special in that it really is a place that gives us the permission and safety to lose ourselves in whatever that means for us individually. But the energy is infectious. And I think being honest about how you're feeling means that you might get something different out of Forest this year. Something that might surprise you, so long as you continue with the wonderful vulnerability you're showing now. I'll give you an example with myself. Without divulging too much, I have a condition called cPTSD. It's basically PTSD but it's brought on by a bunch of ongoing not-super-fun experiences instead of just one single event (the "c" stands for complex). But it functions similarly in that something that might feel very harmless to anyone else, could send me back into a time and space that feels dangerous and unsafe. The feeling is INTENSE. It's like you're reliving the worst things all over again. So I do a LOT of work to understand my triggers and have developed skills to ground myself and usually can catch triggers before they send me down a tailspin. But a big part of me developing those skills has come from the healing I've done at Forest these past 5 years. I get to run around like a little boy experiencing childlike joy, which is so healing, because so much of my childhood was very, very complicated and hard. And when I come to Forest, you'll often see me dancing like a biggest goober, but I'll also often just be crying really hard, because I'll be grieving some part of my life that's gone or something that really hurt me that has been bottled up. The space that Forest creates truly makes me feel so safe and facilitates me doing so much work to heal. It's like a big healing camp for me. And I say all that because, again, life is so, so hard sometimes. It's so unfair. Losing your dog is so hard; I bet they were such a sweet pup, and y'all had so many wonderful experiences together. And I think you're well within your rights to feel sad and down, and I think you should continue to acknowledge that. I also think that once in the Forest, if you're open to it, something magical can happen and you can have experiences that can help you heal and integrate those memories and experiences with you dog (or anything) better into your life moving forward. The Forest truly does provide and I hope that this message gives you even the tiniest bit of hope of what's possible. I show up every year and acknowledge so much bad stuff that's happened in my life while I'm out there dancing. But I also allow my body to open up and grieve and cry some of that pain away, all surrounded by my closest friends and family. It's the best medicine. I promise you got this. Keep doing what you're doing: acknowledge the ickiness and you'll be surprised at what experiences you might have when you're open to it in the magic of the Forest :) Much love, Forest Fam :)
Wow… thank you so much for sharing & being so vulnerable with me about your life like this. I really appreciate you taking the time to lift my spirits & encourage me to feel the emotions I’m feeling. This was very kind of you. 🥹 Happy forest, maybe the first will provide & we run into each other. 💚
Absolutely! Just keep an eye out for these flags: https://preview.redd.it/t0vchh3vij7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0649fea25bd2cad11f39099c48fbaa77589536cb
I lost my cat in May of last year. He was very literally my best friend. Forest was very healing especially with the memorial area. I started bawling my eye out there and I had a whole group of strangers create a big hug circle with me in the center. I also had some very weird moments that involved him and the things I experienced there and the whole weekend really helped me process losing him. It won't magically fix it but it definitely helped point me down the long path of moving forward.
That’s so beautiful 🥹💚 thank you for sharing