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Drinking the Tears of the World:
Grief as Deep Activism

by Francis Weller

At a recent gathering that combined writing practice and grief work, we asked those attending what brought them there. Their responses revealed a powerful mixture of personal and collective sorrow, with most every one speaking to the feelings they were carrying for the state of the world. The specific focus of their grief varied, but the consensus was it was clear we are carrying great sorrow for the sufferings of our planet.

The weekend made it obvious to all of the participants that we need regular avenues to allow the accumulated grief of our lives to be released. Our personal losses must be weighed with dignity, with compassion, and shared. It is essential that we do not measure our losses against the world's, setting up comparisons that make our individual sorrows less important. Our ability to receive our own grief opens the gateway for our communal compassion.

What has become clear is the powerful role grief plays in enabling us to face what is taking place in our communities, our ecologies, families, nations, etc. What I mean by that is that grief is a powerful emotion capable of keeping the edges of the heart pliable, flexible, fluid, and open to the world, and as such, becomes a potent support for any form of activism we may intend to take, indeed is itself a vital form of soul activism.

It is absolutely essential that we address issues of the heart in considering our responses to life. The heartless overtures tossed about with reckless abandon in our political world, reveals what is possible when matters of the heart are neglected.

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it's pretty long, so go get a snack first.