tending our grief, april 2023 edition

Grief…

pervades our lives more intimately than we imagine - running through all transitions of our life. This grief circle welcomes you in whatever season or form of grief you carry: loss of a loved one, stepping out of an old identity, unspoken longings, unmet hopes, felt absences, or the ecological losses of the earth we inhabit. If you would like to join us for this three-week journey, you can write us here. 

WHY A GRIEF CIRCLE - Every single transition, even into expansion, contains within it an element of grief. So whether you might be carrying a recent, past or anticipated grief, there is space for you in this circle. All that is needed is an openness to lean in and a commitment to be present. 

Yet grief can sometimes feel “too much” or “too messy” or “too intimate” to bring up in casual conversation over a hurried catch-up with a friend. Pausing and giving space for what needs to be tended to, knowing that grief is not just okay but welcomed in intentional space, can be such a relief.

When our grief can be spoken and witnessed by others without being dismissed/overreacted to, from its simply being allowed to be there, the same deep well from which it springs might also allow gratitude, beauty, grace to flow through. We reconnect to the way we are cyclical beings, a mirror of nature with our inner seasons, with the contraction of winter and yet with the recognition that spring will arrive slowly but surely. 

WHAT CAN I EXPECT - The intent behind the three-week window is to allow for a gentle arriving and closing to our touching into the tender places. Rather than it being a group therapy session or where advice is given, it is an intentional space of equals where we can each be seen, heard and held in our grief.

Perhaps there is a definite form to your grief that there are words to share about, maybe there are tears that need to be shed, or it might simply be numbness that is needing a place to land in. In circle, our honest sharing can help another remember what aches. We lean into ritual, the expressive arts and connection to the body as a way to metabolise what we might sometimes not quite have the words ourselves to convey. Perspectives on grief will also be shared as a way to offer different lenses to acknowledge the grief we carry.

Everything is invitational, possibilities of ways to be with and allow our grief to flow.

WHO WILL BE HOLDING SPACE - Both Yokes and myself have had our own individual deep dives into grief. In my own ongoing journey of grief-tending, I have continued to be surprised by how the deeper I allow myself to touch into the waters of grief, the deeper my reverence for the aliveness and beauty of the world. Grief circles have been a significant part of my own process of being with my grief.

Beyond being a dear friend who has held me in some of the most raw expressions of my own grief, Yokes has journeyed with vulnerable children, adults and families for over a decade as a trauma-informed facilitator, trainer and writer and through SOMAYOKE continues to create safe spaces for trauma healing.