Jun 10, 2026 · 18 min · 8 segments
I so appreciate the wisdom and writing of Francis Weller. His book *The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief* has been a touchstone for me, and now this book offers…
Diane HullettHost
They come swirling on the winds of divorce, upon the death of someone dear, or as an illness that alters the course of a life.
For many of us, grief is tied intimately to the ravages we witness daily to watersheds and forests, the extinction of species, the collapse of democracy, and the fading of civilization.
It is our unexpressed sorrows, the congested stories of loss that, when left untouched, block our access to the vitality of the soul.
To freely move in and out of the soul's inner chambers, we must first clear the way.
Our apprenticeship begins when we come to understand that grief is ever-present in our lives.
This is a difficult realization, but one that has the opportunity of opening our hearts to a deeper love for our singular life and for the windswept world of which we are a part.
We begin with a simple gesture of picking up the shards of grief that lie littered on the floor of our own house.
Not unlike the young novices earning their apprenticeship with the master teacher, we begin humbly sweeping the shavings, mixing the pigments, cleaning the brushes, and tending the fires.
We begin the process by building our capacity to hold sorrow in the womb of the heart.
Through this practice, we become able to welcome the pervasive and encompassing presence of grief.
It takes tremendous psychic strength to engage the wild images, searing emotions, chaotic dreams, grief-stained memories, and visceral sensation that arise in times of deep grief.
We must build soul muscle to meet these times with anything resembling affection.
Grief is a skill that must be developed or we will find ourselves migrating to the margins of our lives in hopes of avoiding the inevitable entanglements with loss.
They come swirling on the winds of divorce, upon the death of someone dear, or as an illness that alters the course of a life.
For many of us, grief is tied intimately to the ravages we witness daily to watersheds and forests, the extinction of species, the collapse of democracy, and the fading of civilization.
It is our unexpressed sorrows, the congested stories of loss that, when left untouched, block our access to the vitality of the soul.
To freely move in and out of the soul's inner chambers, we must first clear the way.
Our apprenticeship begins when we come to understand that grief is ever-present in our lives.
This is a difficult realization, but one that has the opportunity of opening our hearts to a deeper love for our singular life and for the windswept world of which we are a part.
We begin with a simple gesture of picking up the shards of grief that lie littered on the floor of our own house.
Not unlike the young novices earning their apprenticeship with the master teacher, we begin humbly sweeping the shavings, mixing the pigments, cleaning the brushes, and tending the fires.
We begin the process by building our capacity to hold sorrow in the womb of the heart.
Through this practice, we become able to welcome the pervasive and encompassing presence of grief.
It takes tremendous psychic strength to engage the wild images, searing emotions, chaotic dreams, grief-stained memories, and visceral sensation that arise in times of deep grief.
We must build soul muscle to meet these times with anything resembling affection.
Grief is a skill that must be developed or we will find ourselves migrating to the margins of our lives in hopes of avoiding the inevitable entanglements with loss.
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