The Artists’
Grief Deck

Dealing with sudden change...

Helping others will help yourself.

Focusing on others can be a great way to enable healing.

Consider doing random acts of kindness: donating supplies to an animal shelter, delivering flowers to a nursing home...

The outside must seem so scary, eh? I ask you to spare a minute or two to just stop whatever you are doing. Take this time for yourself. You are the culmination of your ancestors and their lived exper...

Look at the sky.

Look at the sky out your window.

Look for all the variations of color and light you can see. Maybe there are clouds and they are moving...

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...

Scribble with crayons on multiple newspaper sheets. Crumple up each newspaper sheet into a ball. Find a dartboard or target outside to throw each of these balls at and let your physical energy transfe...

Anxiety is a natural part of the grief experience. For some, however, it may become problematic, interfering with daily life. What things help to decrease your anxiety? Activities such as deep-breathi...

Healthy thinking leads to healthy emotions. By listening to how you talk to yourself, you can determine whether your internal statements lead to anxiety and defeat (“I can’t do this") or encourage...

Losses of life interrupt the general flow of our lives. Things are not as they were, and life can feel chaotic. One way of bringing order into the chaos of loss is to establish healthy routines. Set t...

Radical acceptance is a path. Equanimity is a goal. Five hundred years ago lived Akbar, third emperor of the Mughal Empire in South Asia. Seeking wisdom from his advisor Birbal, Akbar asked, “What w...

Get out some paints and let your mind relax. Paint large strokes or circles – It doesn’t have to be anything you recognize. Give each color a feeling, if you desire, and pick which colors you want...

In time of pain and strength, you are always growing. Growth happens in hardship and joy. Growth is non-linear - you flourish even if you can't see it. Our growth is interconnected and rooted in one a...

Meditation: "In the future the dead is all of us - jumped out of the earth to dance again. Every step a reminder of rhythm. Woven into our clothes gleam - dragonfly winged - I remember the good ghosts...

The process of grieving is a natural one. Whenever I feel out of control of my life and my circumstances, I remember that there’s entire natural world out there that keeps moving without me. To remi...

Recall moments of tenderness, both human and otherwise: the touch of hand on shoulder, the needed hug, a note or message, the way that your cats curl together, the delicate meeting of boulders in the...

It’s okay if you’re angry. Angry at the person for dying. Angry at yourself for not saying the right thing. Angry at the doctors for not catching it sooner. Angry at friends for not understanding....

We’re taught at a young age in school that form is in flux. Water can change its physical state from solid to liquid to gas a million times and never lose any part of itself. We forget this fact in...

Loneliness is in integral part of grief. It is hard to accept and feel the loneliness of loss. Consider filling some of the emptiness you feel with other people and activities, such as volunteering or...

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...