The Wild Edge of Sorrow: The Wild Edge of Sorrow Official Workbook Reflections, rituals, and meditations for grief and renewal

by Francis Weller

An elder is able to touch grief deftly and is able to craft sorrow into something nourishing for the community.

Illness is another grief we find at the first gate. Any lingering illness can activate a feeling of loss. When a prolonged sickness arises in our life, we lament the life we once knew and enjoyed, the one brimming with vitality. We feel emptied and drained, finding little joy or motivation for the day. We may feel betrayed by our body, as though we no longer have a foundation beneath us for living fully.

In our isolation, we deprive ourselves of the very things that we require to stay emotionally vital: community, ritual, nature, compassion, reflection, beauty, and love.

“We cannot possibly face the horrors of Iraq with any sense of balance without also remembering the beauty of the world—the plum blossoms and mustard blooming.” We must couple grief and gratitude in a way that encourages us to stay open to life.

We live superficial lives and feel the gnawing ache of something missing. If we are to return to the richly textured life of soul and to participation with the soul of the world, we must pass through the intense region of grief and sorrow.