Originally written for and published by Ethel Studio on August 14, 2021
Grief is part of the process of loving.
"But grief isn’t something to be fixed, because it’s not dysfunctional. It’s a healthy and necessary process we have to undergo in order to heal."
Navigating grief is as much a physical process as it is a mental, emotional, and spiritual one. It comes in waves, and we all traverse it in our own ways at our own pace. Below is an incomplete list of resources for us all in these moments of grief, loss, pain, sadness, and hope that we experience throughout our lives.
GUIDED MEDITATIONS
Comforting Grief led by Andrea Wachter (11 mins)
Grief Support Meditation led by Denise Williams (13 mins)
A Meditation on Grief and Injustice led by Rachel Ricketts (11 mins)
GET IT MOVING
Acupressure for grief: here and here.
An herbal tea recipe for grief.
READINGS
An article on climate grief and how it's not such a bad thing to feel.
Liberation Through Mourning by Lama Rod Owens
The Wisdom in Dark Emotions by Miriam Greenspan
LISTENS
Skillful Mourning with Lama Rod (5 mins)
Navigating Loss Without Closure on the On Being podcast (50 mins)
Tara Brach on The Impermanence of the Body (6 mins)
BOOKS
On Grief and Grieving: Find the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
Grief One Day at a Time: 365 Meditations to Help You Heal After Loss by Alan D. Wolfelt
The Year of Magical Thinking By Joan Didion
It's Ok That You're Not Ok: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand By Megan Devine
Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying By Ram Dass & Mirabai Bush
How to Carry What Can’t be Fixed: A Journal for Grief By Megan Devine
Beloved on the Earth: 150 Poems of Grief and Gratitude
HELPING OTHERS
Stop Saying “I’m Sorry For Your Loss”
MORE EXTENSIVE RESOURCES
Psychology Today's extensive resources on grief & loss.
115 Helpful Websites on Grief and Bereavement
"It seems to me, that if we love, we grieve. That’s the deal. That’s the pact. Grief and love are forever intertwined. Grief is the terrible reminder of the depths of our love and, like love, grief is non-negotiable. There is a vastness to grief that overwhelms our minuscule selves. We are tiny, trembling clusters of atoms subsumed within grief’s awesome presence. It occupies the core of our being and extends through our fingers to the limits of the universe."
- Nick Cave