This should be simple, right? After all not a human alive is spared from the loss of a parent, a beloved, a child or dear friend. Yet Western Culture has done much to diminish this life altering event by putting a time table on grief and dictating how much of your grief to show in public.

In my studies with Francis Weller, (The Wild Edge of Sorrow) I’ve been taught how ritual, witnessing, and community can infuse grief with the sacred. It is my job to help my clients hold that precious space for themselves and their loved ones on the journey of healing and experiencing the wisdom and deep love that only sorrow can bring.

When I attended my first grief ritual, it was not for the loss of a loved one, but it was no less important. Whether you are transitioning jobs, homes, relationships or states of health, sorrow touches us in all these places. As children grow and we become older there are many small heavy truths that illuminate the path before us. Each twist and turn calls to be tended to with love, patience and seen as a catalyst for growth.

To ignore these turning points in our lives can cause a back log of grief and along with it a fear of the dam breaking loose. Creating a sacred space to hold that fear and loss can transform what may have been thought of as a weakness into great strength. My wish is that we create that space together with compassion and hope.

The transformation of our planet in this current time has been called many things. The End of an Earth Age, The Shift or The Long Dark are all pointing to what indigenous cultures throughout the world have predicted for centuries. That there would be a breaking down of resources, governments and of the planet itself. This is the time humans will learn individually and collectively all we haven’t learned during our life before. And we can all feel the grief in our world even if ever so slightly. Because of this we will need others to help shoulder the burden.

If you have been affected by the extinction of species on this planet, by the pollution of this world, by the mass shootings and war, you are not alone. We can grieve together and follow the path of the ancients, no matter how faint, as we journey through this sacred grief. Let us work together to hold that space of sorrow and tend to it often so it does not become overwhelming. Let us give the earth and our brothers and sisters our sacred attention through song, ritual, art and dance.