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 favourite song or let their favourite show play in the background while y...

"Don't forget about music during the hard times, it will help you." These were my dad's dying words. Choose a piece of music that speaks to you in the moment. Create an intentional listening space by finding somewhere quiet indoors or in nature, lowering the light...

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...

Bring your attention to your hands and simply touch the things around you. Be mindful of how these things feel, of how you experience their textures and vibrations through your fingertips. Touch your skin and hair. A piece of clothing or jewelry you’re wearing. The...

If a quality or idea someone’s brought to our lives lives on is us, a part of that someone survives, and in remembering what we’ve learned from them, we re-member ourselves: learn how and who to be, anew, again. Each person becomes a living member, a part of th...

When I am in my car alone, sometimes I’ll talk and explain life events that have happened to me like I’m being interviewed on a news channel or a talk show. I think about speaking it to the masses, like somehow, my story is very important. Next time you are out f...

Even though your loved one is no longer physically present, they will always live in your memories. Take a moment to re-connect with your loved one through a few favorite memories. Review photos or videos and/or journal about these memories. You can even write about...

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 stranger as I did this, the rain clinging to my fingers, building a brid...

The musing below helps me let go. Whenever we paint our nails, we are more aware of the bones of the fingers. Take those moments with your body. The tick marks of my life that used to hold milestones are now compounding uncertainties. Let’s paint our nails and...

1. Take a small decorative box like a chocolates box or a gift box. 2. Make the box into a little altar to your loved one or group, put a candle in it and go to the beach. 3. Light the candle, put the box/alter/ship of the dead into the ocean, and watch the flickering...

Grief is a four-dimensional possession. It fills some part of this room, and it also reaches back in time and toward the future. First study how 3D objects are enclosed: how 2D cloth or paper can be lifted out of its plane and wrapped around the a 3D thing. To enw...

Create a digital memorial for your loved one. You might use your favorite online content curation platform, look at reviews of available platforms and choose one that’s right for you, or ask someone you know for a recommendation. Your digital memorial might include on...

We are integrated people, made up of our physical, mental, spiritual and social components. Good self-care involves all four components. Taking a walk, eating a well- balanced diet, resting well all care for your body. Carrying or wearing a meaningful object, lighting...

Time is one thing we can never, ever get back. Having a chronic illness caused me to lose the experience of having a normal life by any stretch of the imagination from 2012-2016 and our current pandemic has reminded me of this concept of lost time. We have all experie...

I walked a mile with Pleasure; She chatted all the way; But left me none the wiser For all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow; And ne’er a word said she; But, oh! The things I learned from her, When Sorrow walked with me. ~ Robert Browning Hamilto...

remember and count your ancestors generously you are not alone find the place that knows this inheritance well - the nook of your elbow, the curve of your hair let yourself feel some light - the wind against your back, the smell of morning rain carries you you are n...

In the Quaker practice of worship, friends come together, seated and facing one another, for an hour of silence. For the first few meetings, the silence can be uncomfortable. Maybe even unbearable. For many, they are overcome by tears. I ugly cried so hard I made horrif...

Upon lighting — becoming aware of anything you are grieving or wanting to honor as it is lost to the earth and the stars — (ex. a person, or beliefs about this country, world, a relationship, a part of yourself...) While aflame — what is transforming in the fir...

Allow yourself space to feel many, sometimes seemingly conflicting, things at once. We rarely feel only one emotion at a time. Sadness, fear, anger, hope, relief, joy… these feelings can all co-exist without canceling or invalidating each other. When I find myself...

What were your loved one’s superpowers? In what special ways did they show up in your life or in the world? Imagine them in one of their best superhero moments, sharing their unique gifts for the benefits of others. Think about times in the past when their gifts playe...