The Artists’
Grief Deck

You find a deer mouse lifeless at your doorstep and bury it in the yard. Place your pencil on the page where you imagine the grave. Now begin to trace the contour of the mouse: the skeleton, the pulmo...

Gather paper, markers or pencils. This can also be done with collage materials. Make sure you have colors and images that remind you of your loved one(s). Make a map of your heart. Where is your grief...

"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...

Regret may come with your grief. "If only", "I shouldn't have...", "I wish I..." The feeling of regret can be crushing but most emotions are here to serve you. Your regret tries to teach you what to d...

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...

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...

Set up a clean space at a flat work surface, and grab two things: a favorite pen or marker. a stack of blank paper. In the first attempts at this practice, it can be helpful to set a timer. Start with...

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 pandem...

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

Find an old picture of a memory with a person that has died. Use any materials you have (pencil, paints, clay, etc) to recreate this moment with this person. Revisit this memory by sitting still and l...

Go outside, find a quiet spot to be still…and stop. Stop and observe the small details we are ignorant to as we struggle through the day. Sit upon a rock and watch the patterns the birds paint in th...

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...

Hold a hand, Hold the hand of your lost one, your beloved, the hand of the being who haunts you. And when you become accustomed to the deep presence of the absence hold any hand, your lover’s hand,...

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...

We can calm ourselves through our breath. Use the pattern on the front of this card to guide you. Repeat 3 times or more. Notice how you feel....

Whenever I am grieving over the loss of my loved ones, I talk to them in my head about whatever it is I’m going through, knowing that I won’t be able to hear their answer but also believing that t...

If I could say one thing to the person who died, I would… The hardest thing about life without this person is…....

With a journal you can write out your thoughts, feelings, fears, and emotions. You can be uncensored, unfiltered, and unapologetic. There is no fear of repercussions, only the allowance for you to get...

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. Fo...