Grief And Faith

What is the relationship between grief and faith?

Grief is not Catholic, Hindu, or Jew.

Grief is not black, white or brown.

Grief is the great leveler. It slices through differences of country and culture, faith and fanaticism.

Grief is the language of  the human heart broken by loss.

It is to give voice to this message that Lo Anne Mayer (USA), Daniela Norris (Israel & Canada) and I (India) formed the International Grief Council.

Spanning the faith traditions of Catholicism, Hinduism and Judaism, the three of us grew up in different countries and cultures. But we were brought down to our knees by loss and grief. Grief also brought us gifts and growth. Today, all three of us serve the world through these gifts and live more intentional, meaningful and purposeful lives.

I just returned home a week ago after the first 3 events of the International Grief Council. We shared our stories and journeys with wonderful audiences at Georgian Court University (Lakewood, NJ), Villa Walsh (Morristown, NJ) and Namaste Bookshop (NYC).

It was an inspiring, yet humbling experience.

As we tried to find the words to contain the pain of our individual losses, women in the audience reached for Kleenex. Handshakes and hugs bonded us at the end of each presentation. Many women found the words to tell their own stories of pain and grief–divorce, death of a loved one, betrayal and loss.

At every venue, the organizers were pleasantly surprised by the large turnout. It’s a sign, we said. The time is ripe to bring grief out of the closet. To give it voice and meaning, to talk and share and feel and hold each other as we stumble through its dark, lonely terrain.

We wiped away tears. We signed books. We consoled and comforted.

The International Grief Council is committed to bringing global awareness to grief. We are designing upcoming events–retreats and panel discussions for 2016.

If you know of venues that would be a perfect fit for us, please let us know.

Visit International Grief Council to contact us and invite us for talks, seminars, workshops specifically designed for your audience.