“Love and Grief are Sisters”
We are capable of suffering with our world…
“We are capable of suffering with our world, and that is the true meaning of compassion. It enables us to recognize our profound interconnectedness with all beings. Don’t ever apologize for crying for the trees burning in the Amazon or over the waters polluted from mines in the Rockies. Don’t apologize for the sorrow, grief and rage you feel. It is a measure of your humanity and your maturity. It is a measure of your open heart, and as your heart breaks open there will be room for the world to heal. That is what is happening as we see people honestly confronting the sorrows of our time.” – Joanna Macy
The work of the mature person is to hold grief in one hand and gratitude in the other…
“The work of the mature person is to hold grief in one hand and gratitude in the other, and to be stretched large by them. How much sorrow can I hold? That’s how much gratitude I can give. If carry only grief, I’ll bend toward cynicism and despair. If I have only gratitude, I’ll become saccharine and won’t develop much compassion for other people’s suffering. Grief keeps the heart fluid and soft, which helps make compassion possible.” – Francis Weller
Sorrow
Feeling pain for the world is as natural to us as the food and air we draw upon to fashion who we are….
Anger
Anger is an essential part of our natural, healthy emotional response when something we love is threatened or lost.
Fear
Fear, while difficult, is a sign of our deep connection to love and to all of life. It tells us that something we value deeply is at risk.
Guilt
Shame and guilt are difficult feelings. We need compassion and kindness to approach them and apprentice to them safely.
Despair
Despair and hopelessness tell us how deeply we are grieving the threat or damage done to something or someone we love.
Acceptance
Acceptance and integration involve creating a larger internal context in which to hold all of our feelings, thoughts and responses to what is happening currently.