Today I’m feeling grateful for the last of the leaves turning & falling here in the Pacific Northwest and their colours even as they fade. I’m also grateful for walks by the the ocean and rooting ever deeper into my own ancestral lineages & traditions of grief tending.
It’s also been heartbreaking to witness what is happening in the world and to recognize on a deeper level how the process of colonization has affected communities and our traditional ways of tending grief worldwide.
Martin Prechtel says that, “War is a symptom of mass collective unprocessed grief.”
I highly recommend reading his book, “The Smell of Rain on Dust – Grief & Praise,” if you’d like to understand more about this way of knowing & seeing the world.
I would add to that so many of the issues we are dealing with that are causing us as individuals to suffer, from the fentanyl crisis, to the mental health crisis (youth suicide is at unprecedented rates and more college students are taking anti-depressant medication than ever before) to the climate crisis, to the horrific human rights violations happening Palestine & the Congo – it is ALL connected to a massive collective unprocessed grief.
I think the worst Spell that has been cast over humanity is that we are helpless to make a difference. We have lost faith in the power of prayer and the knowing that our actions, words and prayers DO make a difference.
Our state of being and our actions directly affect all those we touch in our day-to-day lives, and the ripple effect of this is SO powerful.
There are many moments when we may want to judge and curse people for their actions, from someone cutting us off in traffic to war mongers creating so much suffering – it is tempting to succumb to bitterness.
Yet we must remember that bitterness that comes with having a closed heart, which ultimately harms our own selves and those closest to us the most.
This is why forgiveness is so powerful.
Forgiveness pays for itself.
Forgiveness sets us free.
Forgiveness does NOT mean we condone what has happened.
Forgiveness means we bless those who have harmed us – may they awaken.
My ongoing and daily prayer is this:
“May all beings awaken to their true nature, which is LOVE. May all beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. May we all recognize liberation together.
May all beings be free.
May all beings be free to live well and in harmony on this Earth. May those who do not respect and love the Earth awaken to their true nature, which is love & connection with all things.
May all beings come into Sacred Reciprocity with all life.
May all beings know how to grieve well, and how to praise well, and be supported in that so their grief does not cause further harm.
May all beings be free.”
