There is a particular kind of grief many people are carrying right now -- one that doesn’t always have a name. It’s not only about personal loss, though that may be part of it. It’s a grief that lives in the body when you read the news. When you think about the climate. When you feel the ground shifting under political systems, social contracts, and shared values. When you wonder what kind of future exists -- for your children, for the planet, for humanity itself.
This is existential grief.
It is the sorrow that arises when the world you believed in no longer feels stable, trustworthy, or coherent. It is the ache of loving a world that feels increasingly fragile.
Many people experiencing existential grief feel isolated. They may hear responses like “focus on what you can control,” or “try not to think about it so much.” But existential grief does not disappear when ignored. It asks to be witnessed, held, and explored with depth and honesty.
This is where spiritual direction and spiritual counselling can offer something different.
Existential grief emerges when core assumptions about life are shaken. You may find yourself asking:
Climate grief is one of the most common expressions of existential grief today. It includes mourning environmental loss, fear for future generations, and despair over collective inaction. Political and social instability can deepen this grief, especially for those who value justice, compassion, and interconnection.
Existential grief often shows up as:
This is not pathology. It is a human response to living consciously in a complex world.
Existential grief is not only psychological—it is spiritual. It touches questions of meaning, purpose, mortality, responsibility, and belonging. It asks not “How do I fix this?” but “How do I live with this truth and remain whole?”
Spiritual direction offers a space that does not rush you toward solutions or positivity. Instead, it creates room for:
As a spiritual director, I don’t offer answers to life’s biggest questions. I offer companionship as you sit with them.
Many people seeking spiritual counselling for existential grief are thoughtful, engaged, and deeply caring. They may already be well-informed. What they often lack is a place to lay down the burden of carrying it all alone.
Our work together might explore:
This is not about bypassing pain or reframing it into something neat. It is about learning how to be in relationship with reality as it is, without losing your humanity.
One of the hardest tensions of existential grief is this: the more awake you are, the more you feel. Many people wonder if awareness itself is the problem.
In spiritual direction, we explore how awareness can coexist with grounding. How sorrow can deepen compassion rather than collapse into despair. How you can stay connected to what matters without being consumed by it.
This may involve:
Existential grief is not a sign that something is wrong with you. It is often a sign that something alive and ethical is responding to the world.
Spiritual direction offers a rare kind of space—one that honours complexity, ambiguity, and depth. A space where you do not have to perform optimism or arrive with clarity. A space where your questions are welcome, even when answers are not.
If you are searching for spiritual counselling or spiritual direction because the state of the world feels heavy, confusing, or overwhelming, I invite you to reach out.
Together, we can explore how to live meaningfully in uncertain times—without abandoning truth, and without abandoning yourself.
If challenges related to existential grief are weighing on you, spiritual direction may offer the grounded, thoughtful support you’re seeking. Contact me to learn more about spiritual direction and let's begin a conversation.