Here and Now

 

8/18/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood

A friend, also newly widowed, gave me this book: Grief One Day at a Time: 365 Meditations to Help You Heal After Loss (Alan Wolfelt). I read each dated page in the morning before breakfast (an idea I got from her). A recent page resonated with the way sketching has long been my primary form of meditation:

Being present in the moment is a difficult way of being to master, but it’s worth working on. When you need a break from your grief and mourning, try to focus on the here and now. Pay attention to your breathing…. Notice the people, objects, colors and textures around you. Attend to the sounds you hear. Smell the aromas in the air…. While we will always miss the person who died, focusing on the present moment can provide breathing space.

8/8/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood

8/16/26 Green Lake neighborhood

Sometimes I’m unexpectedly and suddenly flooded with grief. It pulls me inward, where my entire past with Greg and my entire future without him exist. After the flood recedes, I take a walk, which puts me back out into the world where only the present exists. Attending to sensory observations is essential for meditation, and sketching documents that attention: I observe this, I draw this, here and now.

8/19/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood

8/16/26 Green Lake neighborhood