The Artists’
Grief Deck

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 c...

If you have clay or playdough allow your hands to squish, mold, or shape it. Using a toothpick or pencil, write your loved one’s name in the clay/dough. Spend a minute remembering a way they worked...

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...

Deep down, our human animal knows how to grieve. Trust yourself. Grief is a personal process, and your grief is as unique as you are. No one has the right to tell you how to walk your grief journey....

Connect with an ancestor, either by genealogy or culture or choice. It may help to imagine or conjure their image, or perhaps you may just feel their warmth or light. What might you thank them for? Wh...

Sadness can dull your colorful spirit. Embrace the experience to learn something about the shapes and hues that ignite your soul. Soon, your ways of seeing will change. With the eye of an artist, you...

What is the moment you hold in memory when you were the most alive with your beloved? Dwell in the knowing of that aliveness. Remember the light that day, the way the air felt around you. The sounds,...

Look up to the stars, and listen. What are they telling you? What are they whispering to you across the light years? Across the 5.88 trillion miles that light travels every 365 days? From every annive...

Can you be happy at the crossroads of grief? Is it allowed? Do you feel guilty for being happy sometimes? Place your bare feet flat on Mother Earth, your hands on your heart and close your eyes. Inhal...

Grieving is one of our most natural activities. Thich Nhat Hanh says, "When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may...

I didn’t know I thought about my mom everyday until I had to wake up and remind myself that she was dead. Now, I wake up and remind myself she lived. Gather on a tray: Pen, paper, candle, lighter, a...

There is a time for feeling, a time for acknowledging what has happened, and another time for finding the strength to move through the ache. For now, feel it all. Take as many deep breaths you need (t...

Beautiful white roses and lavender. For spring, for memories, for hope, for healing....

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...

Look outside a window. Take note of the neighborhood you’re in, with all your senses. Sense the familiar or unfamiliar smells that are almost barely detectable. Hear the sounds that freely move and...

My mother always said tears are cleansing for the soul. But sometimes the tears just won't come. Sit in a quiet place that can get wet. Wear something white. Put on music that calms you. Perhaps, ligh...

Sometimes our thoughts can tangle us up, and we need a way to break the cycle. Try drawing with both your hands to make you stop thinking and to help you relieve your emotions and stress onto a paper....

In winter, breathe in the cold, and let the rain shower and cleanse your soul. In summer, bathe in the warmth, and let the light pool and cleanse your soul. That is nature: to be alone, but no...

Exercise is an important component to staying healthy and is a natural mood-elevator. What are your favorite physical activities? How could you incorporate more movement into your daily life? Can you...