Whispers to the Overburdened Heart

March 26, 2021 2:37 PM

The Artists' Grief Deck. "These cards were made by artists and by caregivers experienced with supporting people in processing loss, to help so many of us who have lost someone or something, and who may not be able to safely grieve together. There is no one correct way to use these cards, but we have these suggestions:

Set aside time for yourself to go through them
Find or make a quiet space for yourself.
Look closely at the images.
Let the images guide you to an action or prompt you might not have considered
Use a journal to capture your journey
Some of the prompts encourage you to make something.
Don’t worry about it being a great artwork, this is about a process.
Be open to the feelings that arise.
Stop when you want to stop.
Consider asking someone else who is grieving to join you as you work with the cards.
Choose a card and prompt to focus your work either alone or together with someone
Have each person choose a card themselves and work with that prompt.
Have a plan for what you can do in case pain or sadness arises and see our additional resources page for help.

The site is also soliciting submissions of new cards.

posted by storybored (4 comments total)

I think what I like about this is the frank invitation to "wallow" in your grief, to spend time exploring it, to appreciate all its many facets. I think that people who are grieving are, in a certain sense, fascinated by their own grief. C.S. Lewis compares it to a winding valley, where every bend reveals a new landscape, and it is like that, a totally absorbing trip that you're making all alone. Meanwhile, the rest of the world just wants you to get over it already, which only adds to your pain. When you encounter someone who accepts your grieving self as normal and natural, you just want to weep with gratitude. That's what this project does. Very nice.
posted by HotToddy at 3:46 PM on March 26, 2021 [10 favorites]

This is beautiful, thank you. I’ve been doing some trauma-informed practice lately for professional development and of course the topic of grief and loss comes up a lot. These look like they could be very helpful. I will be sharing it with others.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:46 PM on March 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Can anyone help me decide whether this would be a comforting thing to give to someone who is grieving?
posted by amtho at 11:08 PM on March 26, 2021

Amtho, maybe not as a surprise gift, but you could ask them if it's something they would want, or feel ready for?
posted by Zumbador at 5:26 AM on March 27, 2021 [1 favorite]