It is with both profound sorrow and deep gratitude that we share the news of the passing of a beloved root teacher, mentor, and friend, Joanna Macy, who left this world peacefully on July 19th, 2025, at 3:56 PM Pacific Time, in the comfort of her home and surrounded by love.
Over the past weeks, Joanna continued to radiate the essence of her life’s work—clarity, presence, and a boundless love for the Earth and all beings. True to her nature, she chose to remain at home during her final days, allowing herself to be cradled by the arms of love, community, and the teachings she so freely gave to the world. She gently transitioned with grace and dignity, as she had lived.
For decades, Joanna has been a fierce and tender guide through the turbulent waters of ecological crisis, spiritual longing, and collective awakening. Through The Work That Reconnects, she gifted us not only a powerful framework for personal and planetary transformation, but a sacred pathway to navigate our grief, fear, and despair with courage, integrity, and love.
She taught us how to feel deeply without being overwhelmed, how to act boldly without turning away, and how to reconnect to the web of life even in times of great uncertainty. She reminded us time and again that “the world is alive and we belong to it.” That grief is not weakness, but a measure of our love. That hope is not a passive wish, but a verb born from engaged presence. And that we are not separate from the Earth—we are the Earth, awakening to itself.
Joanna’s teachings—particularly the Spiral of the Work That Reconnects—continue to ripple outward through countless facilitators, gatherings, and acts of sacred activism across the globe. Her voice, her poetry, her commitment to The Great Turning, and her unwavering belief in our capacity to transform despair into action will continue to live on in the hearts and hands of all who walk this path.
While her physical presence has now passed, her spirit remains ever-present. She lives on in the breath of the forest, the rhythm of community song, the fire of collective action, and the quiet moments of reconnection that her work so beautifully made possible.
As we mourn her passing, let us do so with the reverence she taught us—with open eyes, open hearts, and fierce compassion. Let us grieve together, speak truth together, and love this world as she loved it: passionately, protectively, and wholly.
The Work That Reconnects Network is organizing a global online gathering to celebrate Joanna’s life and legacy. Details will be announced in the coming days. We invite you to join in this circle of remembrance, resilience, and gratitude.
May we carry Joanna’s torch forward.
May we tend the fire of the Great Turning.
May we remember her, always.
With deep reverence and love,
The Work That Reconnects Network Weavers
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