As of Wednesday afternoon, May 27th, 2020 the United States has experienced the loss of 100,000 people due to Covid-19. Communities have lost mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, spouses and even children. Families are shattered, and many of the dying have had to breathe their one last breath alone.
Community Grief Ritual:
You can do this alone or possibly through one of the virtual sites now available to us through platforms like zoom, FaceTime, Skype......
Sit in a chair or lie down. Be as comfortable as you can be.
If you choose you may close your eyes or soften them, allow your body to be supported by mother earth, the more you surrender, the more support you feel.
rest your hands on heart or belly, feeling your heart beating, breath moving.
We’re all grieving, many grief’s at one time, layered upon each other. The loss of a beloved human or animal who died, separation from people we love and love us. We grieve the loss of freedom, innocence, justice, and sanity. We grieve our individual losses and community losses.
Settle into some silence and stillness to sense how our body, mind and spirit are grieving. With compassion, feel how grief manifests in your body. Notice any constriction, fatigue, pain, sensations of emptiness or fullness, warmth, cool, soft, hard, numb.
Welcome all emotion & expression (silence, sighs, moans, tears, sobbing, laughter, anger, fear, sadness) As you continue to rest, breath and reflect with compassion, notice any openings, releases or insights. Whatever you are feeling is true and may teach you something.
Grief is not pathological, shameful or in need of fixing. We are practicing Honoring and Integrating Grief.
Feel free to name your grief in a whisper or aloud or remain silent if you choose.