6 Months of Grief Project: Day 82

Standing On Old Wounds (photo by Kim Corbin)

This is Day 82 of my #6MonthsOfGrief Project. To learn more about this practice, feel free to visit Day One, where I explain this project in more detail.

Today my co-worker, Kim showed me a new nature walk I can take during my lunch break. As we walked, Kim pointed out all the trees that had been cut down, and in a flash of inspiration, she had a moment where she knew she needed to take a photo of me on top of this particular cluster of old tree stumps. She knew exactly where she wanted me and once I was up and standing on these old stumps, she took a few pictures. It was fun and strange to have another person take my photo, after so many days of taking my own. It made me feel self-conscious and nervous, but also excited that I had a partner in the crafting of today's image. Today I am not alone. Today I have a friend in my grief.

Looking at the image now, I am struck by the fact that I am literally standing on death. I am standing on old wounds. I am standing on trees that once were tall and green and alive and are now dead. What a perfect image for where I currently am in my life. My grief and sorrow are like these dead stumps. They are ugly and sad and yet very beautiful and powerful. I stand on them and they hold me up. They help me see farther. They make me feel strong.

I'm really thankful that my late husband led me to this new job. I'm thankful for the moments when energy and creativity flow and a picture like this can be taken. I am thankful to Kim for being in the flow with me and seeing me so clearly. I am thankful I work near such beautiful nature. I am even thankful for these sad, dead stumps, that held me up so high today.

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I am very aware that this project can bring up a lot around yours or other's grief and loss, I will always follow every post with some online grief support resources that have helped me. Please feel free to let me know of online support that you have found healing in your grief, as well:

Art with Grief:

• Photographer [Sarah Treanor] Takes Moving Self-Portraits to Cope with Her Fiance's Death by Jillian Wong
• When the Fall Comes, a film about Grief by Adriana Marchione
• Self-Portraits: Expressing Emotion Through Art on What's Your Grief?
• The Hard Romance of Grief by Mark Liebenow
• The poetry of John O’Donohue

Resources for Widows:

• Widowed Village
• Camp Widow

• Soaring Spirits International

Living with Grief Resources:

• Modern Loss's excellent resource list
• The Rules of Grief are for Other People by Shawn Doyle on The Good Men Project
• Grief Bibliography on Grief Healing
• Teresa “TL” Bruce's What to Say When Someone Dies
• They Brought Cookies: For A New Widow, Empathy Eases Death's Pain by Ann Finkbeiner on NPR
• A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit
• Megan Devine’s Refuge in Grief
• The Geography of Sorrow: Francis Weller on Navigating Our Loses, interviewed by Tim McKee in Sun Magazine
• How to Be a Friend in Deed by Bruce Feiler in the New York Times
• 12 Things to Know About the First Year of Grieving Someone You Can’t Live Without by Laurie Costanza in Elephant Magazine

And remember, I am sharing this project on a variety of platforms, including my Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook feeds, as well as my Pinterest page on Grief. I use the hashtag #6MonthsOfGrief, so it can easily be found on any platform. Please share this project with anyone you think might need it.

Thank you, and see you tomorrow.