Healing Grief and Loss

The measure of our grief is a valiant testimony to our capacity to love. To feel, live, and love fully anyway — in the face of this sorrow — is to shape a life worthy of the greatest love we have cherished, and the big, tender heart of the world. Grateful Living can help remind us that it is precisely those things we appreciate and treasure most which open us to experience grief and loss, and to hold our hearts open for the gifts that await our discovery.

May this curated collection of poetry, stories, videos, audio, and more bring you comfort and support for the journey.

Poetry

The Invitation

by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Two nights after he died,all night I heard the sameone-line story on repeat:I am the…

Collections

Poetry Collection: Holding the Heart of Sorrow

by The Grateful Living Team

For times of grief and sorrow, we offer this curated collection of poems as a…

Meditations

A Meditation on Grief

by Jack Kornfield

When after heavy rain the storm clouds disperse, is it not that they’ve wept themselves…

Videos

Earth Altars – Origin Story

by Laura Loescher

“I feel nature is the biggest teacher about resilience.” ~ Laura Loescher Laura Loescher describes…

Articles

A Geography of Grief

by Sarah Kilch Gaffney

You cannot erase history or grief or love, but we will always have this place.…

Stories of Grateful Living

Saying Goodbye: How Gratitude Made my Life Bearable and Beautiful

by Eric Mulholland

When I moved to Seattle in 2002, I was an émigré from Los Angeles, the…

Articles

Heroic Hearts: Love in the Face of Despair

by Kristi Nelson

To love in the face of fear is bold. To love in the face of…

Stories of Grateful Living

What Death Taught Me About Life

by Michelle Courtney Berry

The work of keeping the heart open can be arduous, particularly because it involves being…

Q&A

Lingering Grief

by Patricia Campbell Carlson

Q: I have been stuck in grief for the loss of a child and now…

Feature photo by Saffu/Unsplash