“Grief… stirs the heart, [it] is indeed the song of a soul alive.” -Francis Weller

If one thing is guaranteed in this life it is that we will all be touched by grief in a myriad of ways. Yet in our society grief is something we are compelled to carry on with, to suppress and move past. It is even something that can breed shame and embarrassment. We are never taught, let alone role-modelled healthy ways to be with and express our grief. Instead convinced that grief is only a moment in time that we move past on some linear colonial timeline. But our grief is not linear, it is not just a moment, not just a feeling, but a relationship that can span a lifetime.

“When our grief cannot be spoken, it falls into the shadow and re-arises in us as symptoms. So many of us are depressed, anxious, and lonely. We struggle with addictions and find ourselves moving at a breathless pace, trying to keep up with the machinery of culture.”―Francis Weller

Tending to our grief is a full-day workshop holding space for the myriad layers of grief. A space to be held in the arms of community as we tend to our grief, offering a doorway into deeper ways of being with life.

“There is some strange intimacy between grief and aliveness, some sacred exchange between what seems unbearable and what is most exquisitely alive. Through this, I have come to have a lasting faith in grief.”―Francis Weller

Through this workshop, we will be working with rhythm, melody, and song to support us in our grief. Creating a space to be in a relationship with our grief, not to fix or move past it.

By coming together in this ceremonial container we are expanding our capacity to bear witness to the grief of the world within and without. We are rekindling the ancient wisdom of being with and tending to grief in community. Re-membering that our greatest healing does not happen in isolation.

Together we are unconditioning ourselves to instead anchor into the beauty and sacredness of grief. Reclaiming how to be in right relationship with grief as we re-member the deep source of gratitude and praise for life that can be found in the deepest wells of our suffering.

“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

If you are feeling the resonance in what you have just read then come join Allison and Siobhan in this full-day workshop Tending to our Grief.

Details for Tending to our Grief workshop:

When: 10am-4pm Saturday 16th December

Where: Kalorama (Full address will be given out after confirmation of payment)

Who is this event for: Women and all who identify as women

Included: Nourishing teas, snacks and lunch

Cost: $290 before fees

We would like to pay our deepest respect to the oldest continuing culture in the world and acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as the traditional custodians of the lands upon which we will be gathering.

*Allison and Siobhán acknowledge the depths of people's grief and the limitation of support they are able to offer within the timeframe and nature of this workshop. We ask that people discern for themselves if this container is appropriate for where they are in their own grief journey.

->>We have another event 'Tending to Our Selves' happening the day after this on the 28th January. We have made these two events to complement each other with the idea that women can attend both. You can find more details here.