Let’s grieve together.
Join me for a virtual community grief ritual.
My ongoing virtual community grief rituals are an opportunity for us all to have a shared space to grieve together. I offer an inter-cultural space where everyone is invited, as well as a less frequent affinity space for Black people.
Grieving the Losses of COVID-19
September 27
12:00-2:30pm ET
Let’s confront COVID avoidance and denial and allow our hearts to break for all we’ve lost.
A little over six years ago, all of our lives changed at the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Perhaps you are a healthcare worker or other essential worker who took in the chaos and intensity up close as we all transitioned from our respective normal lives into uncharted territory. Maybe you live in a big city and saw the corpses piling up in freezer trucks faster than they could be laid to rest. You could be someone who was forced to leave college and live with abusive relatives during shelter-in-place. Or maybe you lost a loved one, or multiple loved ones, and were not able to observe traditional funeral rites. So many of us are recovering from the forced isolation of the early pandemic days that left us with unmanageable social anxiety and a general fear of getting close to others both physically and emotionally. You could be someone who, like millions, experienced a dramatic decline in your health after surviving one or multiple infections. Perhaps like me, you were forced to make a big unplanned pivot in your day to day life. Regardless of how your life was altered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, not one of us was left untouched by the most significant global collective grief crisis of our lifetime.
And while the World Health Organization, the U.S. government, and many others declared the pandemic over in spring of 2023, COVID-19 has continued to infect millions per year worldwide, leaving many people with lingering illnesses, new chronic conditions, and extreme disabilities. An underestimation by the WHO reported over four hundred deaths per day from COVID in January of 2026 in the United States. Currently, COVID infections are on the rise in the US as we continue to experience multiple recurring waves of infections annually.
Many who are disabled or otherwise medically vulnerable live with the daily betrayal and confusion of seeing strangers and loved ones alike refuse to take basic precautions to preserve their lives, while others find it difficult to confront their own discomfort or are eager to follow the guidance of leadership that doesn’t have our best interest in mind. Regardless of where you stand on the importance of taking COVID precautions, turning towards grief that we haven’t made space to feel will only benefit us. Letting our hearts break for the relationships we’ve lost, our beloveds bed-bound with long COVID, and the many lives lost to this despicably mismanaged virus that continues to change lives forever can be a way back to our shared humanity and collective care work.
if you’re thinking about attending
Please only come if you can be relatively on time and plan to stay for the entire flow. The full duration is 2 hours and 30 minutes. Arriving 10-15 minutes late is okay.
Please allow yourself to slow down to meet this work. If possible, don’t make plans for directly before or after the grief ritual. Allow yourself to move spaciously through the remainder of your day to allow for deep after care, or for more grief to arise and be released.
Space is limited. Please register in advance.
suggestions for how to prepare
I invite you to do what resonates and be rooted in your own practice.
gather a large dish of salted water to grieve (direct your grief energetically, cry, spit, cough, yell) into
bring a lot of water to drink
wear lighter colored or earth toned clothing
set up your grieving space near an altar for your elevated ancestors or near a lit candle for them.
bring tissues or a handkerchief
bring grounding crystals
bring cleansing herbs to burn
bring a sound bowl, drum, bell, rattle, or other percussive instrument
bring a soft blanket for comfort or other comfort items
bring a pillow to yell into
situate yourself on the floor, or have some floor space accessible so you can move around
if possible and desirable, you can situate yourself outside on the earth and/or near moving water
if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me
