THE GRIEF COMMUNE

Grief is revolutionary.

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And we need a revolution.

 

Our society is dominated by competition, ego, and the illusion of perpetual growth. Indoctrinated into the cult of capitalist individualism, we are alienated from our humanity and spend our lives locked in gladiatorial competition. It is not surprising that this society rarely makes public space for grief. Grief is the deepest expression of our unavoidable entanglement, our lives deeply embedded with other people, living creatures, and the planet. Our society is premised on denying that entanglement and so grief is pushed more into private corners. Three days at home, then get back to work. Large, shared community loss is rarely spoken about through the lens of grief. COVID-19 death statistics and quarantine policies have been part of the public dialogue, but what about grief? We are told that our personal losses are private and our public losses are not to be dwelt on too long. We need to recognize that no personal loss is truly private and that grief is the essence of community.

 

Communal grief is revolutionary.

 

To allow you into my grief, to help you shoulder yours, to heal together, that is the what The Grief Commune is about. To grieve openly and loudly, to share in each other's losses, to grieve with strangers is to reject the basic premise of our society. We are each other's caretakers, not competitors. We refuse the privatization of everything, including grief. We believe communal grief can be the germ of a revolution aimed at building a world of love and community, not ego and accumulation.

 

The Grief Commune exists to help bring about that world.