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8.7 Class Project Option

Grief & Loss & Bereavement Assignment

As you learned in this chapter, although there is a tendency to think of experiences of loss and grief as associated with the death of a loved one or someone we cared for or admired, we experience many other forms of grief and loss in our lives. This chapter’s assignment is to create a memory object tied to someone or something you have lost and to use it as a reminder to live with intention in a way that honors them. The loss can be any kind of loss you have experienced. It can be the loss of a person you love due to death or other reasons (relocation, end of relationship, disagreement, etc.); loss of connections with people; the loss of experiences, etc.

Although loss is invariably associated with sadness and longing, it can also remind us of what is important, what is to be valued, and who we would like to be in the world.  Although grief can make us feel inert, helpless, and “stuck” – it can eventually compel us to live with more urgency and intentionality.  For this assignment, you will think of something or someone you have lost. You will articulate what was best about them, why they were important in your life, and what about them was inspirational and could inform how you might live your life better or more fully.  You will select an item that reminds you of them – it could be a picture, a bracelet with a name or a color that symbolizes them, or some other artifact that you will see daily.  You will identify 3 specific things you can do on a daily basis to live in a way that honors them and is a testament to who they were.  Each day you will look at the reminder and decide to implement at least one of the specific actions that are reminiscent of the person. It could be complimenting someone else if they were kind to others, going for a walk and paying attention to the sky, trees, and flowers if they were attuned to nature, or helping someone in need if they were altruistic.  For 1 week, you will keep a diary of these actions and reflect on how they made you feel, how they impacted your mood, and how/whether they helped you feel like you were commemorating the loss and the person in a helpful fashion.

Steps to Completing the Assignment

  1. Identify a loss you have had and a symbolic object that reminds you of the person or thing that you lost.
  2. Write a 1000+ word essay about the person/thing that was lost, what was positive, valuable, and inspiring about them and what qualities would be helpful to imbue in your own life to be a better person, live a healthier life, or remember them adaptively.
  3. Identify 3 specific, actionable steps that you might take to live in a way that honors their memory.
  4. Keep a diary for 7 days. Each day you will describe which of the actions you took on that day (at least 1 but can do more), how it caused you to feel, how it impacted your mood, and whether/the degree to which you felt comforted by keeping their memory alive through your own actions inspired by their memory. Each entry should be at least 500 words.

 

License

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On Death and Dying Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline Lewis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.