Is it Possible to Play with Grief?

If there’s one thing that changed my life more than anything, it was learning to honor and tend to my grief. To create loving space for it. In learning how to meet my grief, my capacity to feel whole—and to love myself—has grown exponentially.

This is also a prayer I hold for the world: that we learn to turn toward our grief with love, compassion, and curiosity. If we could do that, the world would be so different. And since we were never meant to carry it alone, it matters deeply that we gather in community to learn how.

I know it can feel strange to put grief and play in the same sentence. You might even feel a strong reaction to it. For me, ritual is a form of play—it becomes the bridge between grief and play, and it’s how I connect with both.

So for today’s play example, I want to share a simple grief ritual that has supported me again and again.

Rock Grief Ritual

• Prepare a bowl of water and a small pile of rocks.

• Sit in meditation and feel into the grief present in your body and heart. Notice the sensations, emotions, and stories that live within you.

• When you’re ready, name the grief with the sentence stem: “The grief I carry…” Place a rock in the bowl to represent each grief. Some days there may be just one, other days a whole pile.

• Sit with the rocks. Let yourself express—through tears, movement, or song—to honor the grief that has arrived.

• When the ritual feels complete, bring the rocks to a river or another place in nature and release them.
  

It’s wild to feel the movement and release that can come through this simple practice.