… watching for the brushstrokes of God
“Grief work is soul work. It requires courage to face the world as it is and not turn away, to not burrow into a hole of comfort and anesthetization. Grief deepens our connection with soul, taking us into territories of vulnerability, exposing the truth of our need for others in times of loss and suffering.” Francis Weller, The Wild Edge of Sorrow
“ Those who have died have never, never left
The dead are not under the earth
They are in the rustling trees
They are in the groaning woods
They are in the crying grass
They are in the moaning rocks
The dead are not under the earth” Sweet Honey in the Rock
How do we learn to carry our grief? How does grief as a vital ongoing conversation accompany us throughout life? What spaces does grief open up?
“The earth is a revelation, offering itself to us daily in an astonishing array of beauty and suffering. What is required of us is living with a level of openness and vulnerability to the joys and sorrows of the world.” Francis Weller, The Wild Edge of Sorrow
How do you take in the beauty and the suffering?
“A greeting from my heart to Beirut
kisses to the sea and to the houses
to a rock shaped like an old sailor’s face
She is wine from the people’s soul
She is bread and Jasmine from their sweat
So how does her taste become? A taste of fire and smoke…” Lebanese singer Fairuz
How do we mourn loss upon loss?
With the Eyes of the Heart 