The Five Gates of Grief

[VM-Fox25]

Hello all,

There are many ways to explore and understand grief. I’ve been exploring Francis Weller’s “Five Gates of Grief” and have been gaining a lot of clarity.

The gates are like different shapes, forms, or avenues of grief, and I feel they serve as a kind reminder that we can feel grief in many ways and as a result of many experiences. I recommend reading “The Wild Edge of Sorrow” by Francis Weller for more information, or you can refer to this short document. In brief, the gates are as follows:

1) Everything we love, we will lose – all things must come to an end.
2) The places that have not known love – the parts of ourselves we have ignored, forgotten, or left behind.
3) The sorrows of the world – loss of cultures, lands, connection to the Earth.
4) What we expected and did not receive – loss of communities, longing to belong.
5) Ancestral grief – the pain of those who came before us.

Of course, this looks different to us all, and some points may stick out to you more than others. Just be kind with yourself. I hope this provides you some clarity or perhaps some avenues to explore. Please let me know your thoughts. 🙂

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