TENDING THE WEB: GRIEF & GRATITUDE
We live in challenging and extraordinary times, tasked with bearing witness to the unprecedented destruction of our world’s social and ecological systems.
For those of us engaged in Earth-sustaining, justice-seeking, and change-making work, it is critical to develop practices to care for our hearts, weather the storms, and grow our capacity to navigate the times we live in with purpose and compassion.
I facilitate workshops and retreats designed for change-makers, empaths, cultural workers and caregivers to process our grief for the state of the world in order to be more present, engaged, and powerful forces for change.
By feeling, acknowledging, and moving through our grief, we restore flow.
At this juncture in human history, the scale and scope of what we’re losing is almost beyond our ability to comprehend. The very life support systems of the planet — a stable climate, abundant fresh water, intact ecosystems — are now at risk. Staring into this abyss, it is easy to become overwhelmed. We may numb our feelings, which arise out of our deep care for the world and our interconnection with all its inhabitants. We can easily get distracted by the demands of life, work, relationships, and surviving modern capitalism. Yet whether we register it consciously or not, this collective loss affects us all. And when we fail to process our emotions, including our grief, that energy can become stuck and impact our mental, emotional and physical health.
“What is your capacity to metabolize what you’re bearing witness to?” — Laura van Dernoot Lipsky
By feeling, acknowledging, and moving through our grief, we restore flow. We affirm our connection with the web of life, and become more fully engaged in the healing of the world. When we’re able to metabolize our grief, we come out on the other side with a sense of renewal and more space for creativity, connection and engagement.
I’m excited to partner with groups to facilitate workshops, retreats, rituals and other explorations in the tradition of the Work that Reconnects, a framework that honors our pain for the world and helps us become more active participants in the transition to a life-affirming society. This work is rooted in gratitude and the fertile ground of our connection with the Earth and each other.
I’m a member of the Work That Reconnects facilitators network, and I’m also inspired by Francis Weller, Martin Prechtel, and Laura van Dernoot Lipsky’s work with Trauma Stewardship. I also draw from many years of experience with group facilitation, mindfulness meditation and Earth-based spirituality.
If you’re interested in hosting a workshop, please get in touch!
Feedback from past workshop participants:
“It helped me feel more connected to my heart and spirit.”
“Really powerful. Wonderful for a brief class — transformative. Such beautiful work!”
“I wish everyone could do something like this. It felt very well organized, focused, well balanced and intimate.”
“I felt wonderfully challenged to stay present for tears, hard in the moment but great to be brave.”
“The process was really effective for reaching objectives. I loved not knowing what was next.”
“I wish it was longer - it felt amazing to open up.”
“Restorative for the soul.”
“Grief is subversive, undermining our society’s quiet agreement that we will behave and be in control of our emotions. It is an act of protest that declares our refusal to live numb and small. There is something feral about grief, something essentially outside the ordained and sanctioned behaviours of our culture. Because of that, grief is necessary to the vitality of the soul.”
— Francis Weller
“The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.”
— Joanna Macy