The biggest and most unnoticed obstacle change agents face is unprocessed grief.

 

When you think about it, one of the most powerful leverage points we have in terms of the kind of impact we want to have is our mood.

When our spirits are high we face obstacles with creativity, tenacity, and persistence. And if the problem refuses to yield we don’t crumble into a negative space.

When our mood is depressed or has a contracted energy about it, what happens? We have less energy. People are less attracted to being around us or connecting with us. Our creative problem-solving is crippled. We don’t notice the beauty all around us.

And what keeps our energy contracted and our mood low – without even realizing it – is unprocessed grief.

There are many ways to process grief.

Having grief is not a problem. Knowing that you have unprocessed emotions and choosing not to do anything about it IS a problem.

The most powerful work I have found for working constructively with grief is the work of Joanna Macy.

And where I live, in the Bellingham, Washington area (USA), we have a well-kept secret: Emily Farrell.

Emily has been a long-time student of Joanna Macy’s methodology and processes, and brings to it her own hard-earned experience in wholistic psychotherapy and eco-psychology.

Emily has a class coming up in a few days for reconnecting with your passion, your purpose, and a sense of hopefulness for the world.

The class is called “Coming Back to Life” and it begins this coming Thursday, October 4, 2012.

If you are local to the Bellingham, Washington area, you can sign up for Emily’s class online through the Whatcom Folk School, here. (http://www.whatcomfolkschool.org/for-students)

Thank you, Emily. We, Earth and all species, need all the help we can get.