The Artists’
Grief Deck

Find something that you think your loved one would have loved and love it for them. It doesn’t have to be anything special or perfect. Maybe it is a simple object in your home, outside in nature, or...

While visiting the 9/11 memorial in NYC outside in the rain, I ran my fingers over the engraved names in the memorial walls surrounding the fountains outlining the towers. I thought/prayed for each st...

I grieve not only for the losses of the present but also for what could have been. If I stay too long in my head imagining the things I won't ever have, I can lose myself in a spiral downward. When I...

Everyone has a story to tell. Today, you have the chance to tell a part of your story in 6 words. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Take some quiet time in a peaceful space and think about wh...

Interplaying with the grief. Put on a piece of music (3-5 min long instrumental works great) and begin to move. Taking care of your body and listening - Does it need to move gently with a swaying moti...

Recall the people you love who you have lost in your life who have added deeply to who you are. Then write a “blessing equation.” For example: “John + Shannon + Leslie + Chondra = ME” Take som...

Music has the ability to help us feel our emotions without much thought or effort. It meets us where we are. Make a playlist of comforting, familiar songs. If the list is too overwhelming, focus on on...

We all grieve differently and we carry our grief differently. Let’s explore our grief and the places in our bodies where we hold and carry that grief. Start with a body scan - take a couple of deep...

Create and collaborate. Use an item belonging to your loved one to create something new. T-shirts may become a quilt or a pillow. Photos and letters may become a collage. You might listen to their fav...

Did I become a butterfly when I dreamed, or did the butterfly become me when it dreamed? In any case, butterflies are not confused, and even if they are, they are a small being, and so am I....

Dealing with sudden change...

After my mother died, I had the urge to plant something, to watch something grow. It felt good to sink my hands into the earth, feel the soil sift through my fingers. It felt tangible. Plant a tree, a...

Go for a walk. Find a piece of sidewalk that falls under the sun’s rays. Place your feet firmly on this patch of concrete. Close your eyes and keep your hands to your sides. Breathe. Stay here for a...

When I gather the fragments together, nothing makes sense. Everything is scattered and haphazard. But something may catch my eye, something accidental and unexpected. A color combination, a shape I ha...

Upul said, "Betty be a tunnel" Betty be a tunnel the dread the love the breath the loss You are a tunnel let life go through...

Read your favorite stories aloud and believe with all of your heart your loved one is listening closely to every page....

Release. Letting go is a natural process of nature. The leaves of trees fall as they turn into gold and drift lighter and lighter, drifting in the wind. Try to be like that. Feel yourself floating as...

Pretend a newspaper reporter is interviewing you to learn about grief and loss and your job is to teach them. What would you want them to know about what it’s like to be you since your loved one die...

“Flowers in April” addresses the grieving process of losing a loved one and the search of closure. The owl in the painting represents silence of solitude to the people who passed away during the p...