Barefoot Funerals

12/10/2025

For those that know and love Teresa. Please be advised that this is a gathering by private invitation only. Thank you for your consideration in this.

16/09/2025

There are the great endings that split our worlds wide open, and the quiet thresholds we only recognise when looking back. Endings arrive in many forms, yet each are a sacred shaper of the heart, a teacher in our becoming.

12/09/2025

For all of us

31/08/2025

29/08/2025

As End of Life Doula, I have been a long time companion of the Elderly. I want to share one of the grief’s we don’t often think about, and rarely speak of. It’s an unseen grief and arrives slowly, without ceremony— and just settles into the corners of your days like dust.
It’s THE GRIEF OF GROWING OLD.🌅

You begin to notice the absences. Friends who once filled your life with laughter and shared history are now names etched in memories that flicker at the edges.

The phone rings less. The calendar shows more empty days than full ones. You start to count your connections not by who'll call next, but by who no longer can, or will.

Your body, once reliable, begins to resist. Tasks that were second nature— lifting groceries, climbing stairs, remembering names— become harder. So you adapt, simplify and make do. But there’s a quiet ache in watching your own abilities slip away, one unnoticed moment at a time.

And the hardest part is that it’s so difficult to talk about. People don’t always know how to respond. You don’t want to sound bitter. So you smile. You say you’re fine. But inside, there’s a loneliness that’s hard to name.

I remember doula companioning an older gentleman recently. He had once been a builder— strong, capable, always moving. But in those last years, he sat mostly quietly with his hands folded, eyes distant.

One afternoon, he said quietly: "I used to be someone people needed."

That sentence stayed with me. It wasn’t about ego. It was about purpose and belonging and being woven into the fabric of others’ lives.

This grief is real. It deserves to be named and held and honoured.
If you’re feeling this way, know that you’re not alone.
Reach out—to a doula, your children, a neighbour, a community group, a counsellor. Connection doesn’t have to vanish with age. It just takes more intention.

And if you’re younger, take a moment to check in with someone older. Ask them how they’re really doing. Listen to their story, maybe share a meal. These small gestures can mean more than you know.

Growing older isn’t a failure, just a transition. And like all transitions, it deserves space, compassion, and conversation.
Even in the quiet, you are seen.🍃🌸

29/08/2025

“Grief is not just an emotion, it’s an unraveling, a space where something once lived but is now gone. It carves through you, leaving a hollow ache where love once resided.

In the beginning, it feels unbearable, like a wound that will never close. But over time, the raw edges begin to mend. The pain softens, but the imprint remains—a quiet reminder of what once was. The truth is, you never truly “move on.” You move with it. The love you had does not disappear; it transforms. It lingers in the echoes of laughter, in the warmth of old memories, in the silent moments where you still reach for what is no longer there.
And that’s okay.

Grief is not a burden to be hidden. It is not a weakness to be ashamed of. It is the deepest proof that love existed, that something beautiful once touched your life. So let yourself feel it. Let yourself mourn. Let yourself remember.

There is no timeline, no “right” way to grieve.

Some days will be heavy, and some will feel lighter.

Some moments will bring unexpected waves of sadness, while others will fill you with gratitude for the love you were lucky enough to experience.

Honor your grief, for it is sacred. It is a testament to the depth of your heart. And in time, through the pain, you will find healing, not because you have forgotten, but because you have learned how to carry both love and loss together.”

- Jim Carrey

16/08/2025

The Barefoot Funerals team, all together at last week’s Coffs Coast Death & Dying Expo. What a beautiful day it was, filled with connection, conversation, and community.

We are so grateful to have shared in such a meaningful gathering, and to walk alongside so many others who are helping bring death care into the community in open and thoughtful ways 🙏

09/08/2025

Tomorrow at the Coffs Coast Death & Dying Expo, Leonie from Barefoot Funerals will offer a live demonstration of shrouding, a simple and ancient way of preparing a body for burial or cremation.

Shrouding has been practised for centuries across cultures and faiths, honouring the body in a way that is intimate, sustainable, and deeply human. This is an opportunity to see the process, ask questions, and explore a tradition that is both old and quietly returning.

📍 Coffs Harbour Showground
🗓 Saturday 10 August
⏰ 10am – 3pm (shrouding at 12.20- 12.35pm)
Free entry

Come witness, learn, and be part of the conversation around the many ways we can meet death with dignity and care.

📸 Pictured, Lissa from barefoot and the magical woman behind ‘Shrouded with Love’, find out more about her offerings at www.lissacarmeladoula.com.au

03/08/2025

Just one week to go!

Join us for the Coffs Coast Death & Dying Expo :

🕊️ Sunday 10th August, 9am–2pm
📍 Norm Jordan Pavilion, Coffs Harbour Showgrounds

A free community event (by donation) where end-of-life workers, creatives, and curious hearts come together to explore dying, grief, legacy and beyond.

A gentle space to listen, learn, and connect.

📸

27/05/2025

We were gifted this sweet coffin by the fabulous Wendy and would like to offer it to our community. The structure is solid but it could do with a coat of paint (a tin is included).

If you know a local family in need please reach out! 🤍 Dimensions are 1900 L x 600W x 400H

09/04/2025

A few beautiful gatherings with the Miindala community to take note of in Bellingen these nexts months .. 💌