by Hector Aristizabel with Uri Noy Meir & Ilaria Olimpico
Recording by Gabo Aristizabal
Shayontoni Gosh and Hector Aristizabal were invited to join in the week-long celebration of the Work That Reconnects (WTR) network, particularly on the day dedicated to honoring our collective pain for the world. Our intention was to involve other WTR practitioners in the process, both in shaping our activities and imagining how others could participate. The inspiration for this endeavor came from Joanna Macy’s 1981 poem “Bestiary,” which emerged from a shared exercise of grief for the numerous species that had vanished by that time.
Recognizing the enormity of the task, we pondered how to navigate the ongoing environmental crisis, the 17 active wars, the breakdown of social institutions, the global issue of male violence against women, and the pervasive sense of meaninglessness in today’s world.
How could we collectively mourn the beauty and life lost in our world?
Acknowledging the profound impact of Joanna Macy’s life’s work and the wisdom of the Work That Reconnects, we knew this process had to be collective. Leveraging technology, we crafted a simple invitation to gather diverse voices from our networks. Participants were asked to respond with a short video, performing a condensed version of Joanna’s original poem “Bestiary,” skillfully adapted by Reconectando’s Liliana Acevedo. Within days, we received video contributions from various countries in different languages.
ImaginAction’s Uri Noy Meir edited these clips into a short video, complemented by music from Clare Hedin. This compilation was then shared at the online gathering.
The video builds on ImaginAction’s efforts to give voice to the more than human world through embodied artistic expression. It was beautiful to see more than 50 faces and voices worldwide, each in their native language.
Post-viewing, Ilaria Olimpico guided us in an emotional and poetic response to the video’s imagery, weaving together a collective mandala of grief for the current state of our world. The experience showcased the beauty that emerges when we collectively mourn and derive meaning from a collapsing world.
Staying-with is an ability more than ever needed in this current time.
Joanna’s invitation to “Walk through life with an open, broken heart.”
Courage, on the contrary of what commonly is perceived, is the twin of vulnerability.
Having Joanna’s blessed presence during our virtual ritual was a source of great joy. Our souls expressed the power of shared mourning and together, we sought an antidote to the collective trauma stemming from the separation and destruction we face. Collectively transforming our pain and freeing our energy so we can fight for a new world to emerge.
Links to previous video works that led to this offering:
2022 – Back to Earth and Conference of Beings I
https://imaginaction.org/unlockthenews/back-to-earth
https://imaginaction.org/cob-i-i-am-mother-earth-and-we-are-all-related
2023 – Bestiary
https://imaginaction.org/bestiary-gaian-gathering-2023
This article is an edited transcription of a talk given at the Gaian Gathering of the Work That Reconnects Network in November 2023. A video of the full talk is available on the WTR Network website here.
Hector Aristizabal is a eco-psychologist and the current director of Fundacion Reconectando dedicated to reconciliation in Colombia among humans and nature as well as perpetrators of violence and their victims. He combines healing rituals with the Work That Reconnects and social theater to create spaces for healing.
Uri Noy Meir is a father, an artist and creative being. He seeks to collaborate with life to heal himself with other through greater connection to nature, self and others.
Ilaria Olimpico is mother of two daughters, social arts facilitator, Focusing trainer. She combines participative storytelling, listening practices and theater to accompany people and communities in the paths of awareness and reconnection.