Grief vigil
This work is the honour of a lifetime
On Sunday March 1st, under the light of the almost full moon, we held our beautiful grief vigil to honour the grief that people are holding alone.
From the people who’s fresh grief wanted space to unfold, perhaps for the first time, to the veteran Lighthouse Circle Lifetime members, who have been through round after round, watching their grief move up and down and around spirals, we gathered to honour ourselves and our lost loved ones.
Oh the generosity, the sincerity and the kindness we witness.
And the gratitude - the wee notes people sent us afterward, I never ever take for granted the beauty of spaces where there is ease, love and gratitude.
Ms O, a long term Lighthouse Lifetime member opened for us with a story in which she shared her grief journey and story in the most magical way, sharing this poem https://pirpoetry.com/2020/08/01/four-a-m/ as a way of weaving the texture of her grief into words. Her grief may be 50 years old but the relationship to it is strong, present and deeply textured. We loved folding in our members - we have sat in grief together since 2021 over and over again, being with it and dancing with it as it morphs and glitches.
How brave you are. How honest and tender. How sad and confused. How infuriated and filled with rage. Wrapped in blankets with candles, incense and stories.
We call in our lost ones, honour them witness them and tend to you, the people left with the people left with the people without them.
Together we generated the Metta, our closing petition, that we generate every time we gather; co-created requests for everyone.
May you find ease and love in the admin
May we find ease and love in the admin
May I find ease and love in the admin
May you create your own rituals and ceremonies
May we create our own rituals and ceremonies
May I create my own rituals and ceremonies
May you find bridges between the realms
May we find bridges between the realms
May I find bridges between the realms
In our grief circle we have the laughter and sadness, joy and sorrow, rage and quiet sit together, often all in one story. If you can sit with the paradox of the messy parts of life and hold our sacred and secret stories, this is the place for you. Welcome.
Thank you for joining our grief vigil - we love you and honour your grief.
Dairyuji Temple, Oga.