Winter Grief Tending: Sweet Darkness

You are warmly invited to join us for a day of grief tending in community to mark the Winter Solstice.

Drawing on the strength of the circle, we'll be turning to face that which is dark and heavy in ourselves and in our world. As we do so, we will also be turning towards the light that is always and forever greater than even the darkest night.

This is a place for you to bring:

• current grief for bereavement, health issues and life changes
• long-term grief, passed down through families and culture
• grief for our earth, for the destruction of what we love, and for future generations
• pain for the world
• grief that feels stuck or frozen.

You may also simply want to deepen your relationship with grief as a force for personal and cultural transformation and healing, and to experience yourself as part of a community of lament. All of this and more is welcome.

We undertake this journey together not only for our individual healing, but also for the well-making of our wider communities and for all beings everywhere.

Please note: bookings for this event will be closed at 10am two days before the workshop starts (i.e. Saturday 19th).

The Shape of the Workshop

We begin by checking in with what is resourcing and holding us in life at this time, through invocation and gratitude - building strong banks to support our group journey. We'll then move into a time of gently stirring the waters of our grief through pair work and small group practices.

A group journey follows in which we invite a fuller expression of our multiple griefs, and we usually refer to this part of the process as a ritual, or ceremony. This means we tell our stories, and we also draw on language that takes us beyond the spoken word and into the realm of symbol, poetry, song and embodied expression.

This idea of ritual, or ceremony, can feel edgy for some of us. We're finding our way with this, as we call in the wider holding of the natural world, and of the realms above and beyond our own to support us. It's a journey of discovery, which draws on ancient wisdom traditions and modern psychology to help awaken the heart-knowing that exists within each of us.

Next comes a time of feasting and soothing, which most people find comforting and resourcing. Not infrequently this part of the process can lead us into spontaneous and joyous laughter, and sometimes dancing too.

Finally, we work with practices for 'turning around', to help you be ready to meet whatever awaits you when you return home, and to begin integrating the experience into your daily life.

All of these practices are invitations - it's all optional, which means you can participate as much - or as little - as you choose. We always emphasise 'self-care on top'. So you can go at your own pace and find your own way through our collective journey.

More about Grief Tending

The Frequently Asked Questions page on our website may answer any further questions you may have. It's designed to address the barriers that people typically experience in thinking about joining one of our events.

You may also want to check out this article:
Why Grieve Together

Many people experience a profound transformation after attending one of our events. For others, the healing is more gradual and part of a wider move towards wellness. On this page you will find personal testimonials to give you a flavour of the benefits of this work:
Testimonials

The Venue

We'll be meeting at the Sea Scouts Hall in Lakenham. The hall is spacious and beautiful with an outside area that looks out onto the flowing River Yare.

Sharing Lifts

We encourage participants to connect up with each other to arrange lift shares, to help out those who don't have transport, but also to be mindful of fuel consumption. We will email you with a Google spreadsheet to facilitate lift sharing.

Acknowledgements

With thanks to local artist Rob Barnes for our event images. You can look at his linocut creations here

This event is organised in association with the Gathering Gates