Grief is an important part of any process of loss, so why don't we mourn the loss of our peace?
In this program, we will focus on the feelings of grief and sadness that people experience when peace feels lost. Peace is not just the opposite of war. The loss of peace is for many of us the loss of feelings of safety. It is the loss of light heartedness, no longer being able to pass through life without a certain level of fear.
Grieving peace is about seeking community so that the grief felt by the individual will be alleviated by being together. Through a discussion group, similar to NEWConnective’s other grief groups, we will explore important topics such as grief, trauma, and peace using art and literature. Together with the group, we will determine which loss of peace we will mourn and how the group can find common ground thanks to and despite their unique experiences.
During this event, we will explore the nature of mourning in relation to peace, we will look at the importance of art in relation to trauma, and we will look at possible ways to give space to mourning the loss of peace. This series of meetings consists of four sessions, in which you as a participant are expected to take part in all four; in other words, we hope to take these steps in processing together. In the last session we will explore how we can implement the experiences from this group in our day-to-day life.
This program is for all people who mourn peace, not only those who have experienced war first-hand but also those who have experienced it through their phone screens, or who, for other reasons, no longer feel they can live “in peace” within today's society.
Art by: Yonah de Beer (INSI art)