11/08/2026
We'll save you a spot on our big, international blanket!
I had this thought today...
And the more I think about it, the more I wish it were actually possible.
There should be a kind of Woodstock for people who're grieving.
Not a grief conference. Not a seminar where someone stands at the front of the room and tells us the stages we’re supposed to go through. And definitely not a weekend devoted to trying to “fix” anybody.
I’m imagining thousands of grieving people gathering somewhere beautiful, bringing lawn chairs and blankets, sitting together under the open sky. There would be music, food, stories, laughter, tears, and probably a whole lot of hugging between people who had only met five minutes earlier.
Nobody would have to explain why they suddenly got quiet. Nobody would think it was strange if you cried when a certain song played. Nobody would tell you it was time to move on, look on the bright side, or be grateful for what you still have.
Here’s the thing…you could say the name of the person you miss as many times as you wanted.
You could tell the same story about them three times, and somebody would still listen.
And if you didn't feel like talking at all, you could just sit there with thousands of other people who understood why sometimes just getting through the day is an accomplishment.
Maybe at some point we'd all raise a light for the people we love who aren't physically here anymore. Thousands of little lights in the darkness, each one representing a person who lived, who was loved, and who still matters.
I'd like to think we'd leave there still grieving, because something like that doesn't take grief away. But maybe we'd leave feeling a little less strange, a little more understood, and a whole lot less alone.
I don't know. Maybe it's a crazy idea.
But if there ever were a Woodstock for grief...
I'd definitely save you a spot on my blanket.
Gary Sturgis
Author of: ‘SURVIVING GRIEF - 365 Days A Year’
