Joanna Macy — Hope Portal, Episode 5

This podcast features an interview with Joanna Macy, a philosopher of ecology and Buddhist teacher. Krista Tippett, the interviewer, discusses Macy's perspective on facing the pain and grief associated with environmental challenges and the importance of embracing this pain as a pathway to deeper love and action. Macy emphasizes the necessity of confronting difficult emotions rather than avoiding them, drawing parallels to caring for a loved one facing illness. The conversation incorporates Rilke's poetry, specifically a sonnet translated by Macy, to illustrate the transformative power of confronting pain and finding strength within it. The discussion also touches upon the theological concept of moving from grief to mourning as a process of making pain sacred and finding a path towards a hopeful future.