Moving from solo events to on-going communities of practices takes time and commitment. One of these offerings is our EarthCourage work, which has shifted from a 4 day event to a 101 day practice. What shifts when we commit to deepening relations over time? How do we welcome the whole, in these times of divisiveness? Here’s a taste of one reflective journey with Earth, written by co-facilitator, Paula J. Pedersen, from her perch in the Lake Superior landscape as she travels with summer into fall.
Day 13 of 101 (August)
“It's interesting to see how Earth responds to the drought. The flowers are pale looking, the vibrant colors muted. The apple trees have no fruit. Perhaps the late freeze during the blossom stage was mother earth knowing that they wouldn't have what they needed to grow this summer anyway. The trees in the forest around our property are changing color already. It's interesting how lack of rain pushes them into fall "hibernation" early. All that nature is teaching me is how to grieve so that I can move on to what's new.
What IS sprouting up everywhere are little aspen saplings. It is as if she is saying; "Here, these will grow!" It's a reminder to live what IS instead of pre-determining or forcing what I want (or think should) grow. Nature knows and sends what she needs. Like the trees flexing in the breeze, she will bend to whatever is. Oh how I long to be more like her.
Day 27 of 101 ( September)
I am grateful to be invited to stay at a friend's family rental cabin on Madeline Island, in Lake Superior. I spent some time laying on the dock, listening to the water under the crib below. The sounds - that I would not know are there if I was standing above just looking with my eyes - are front and center.
I am paying attention to the lessons from all that is around me - the trees dangling from the edge of the rock with only a root holding them up. Yet they reach for the sky, sprout green and dance in the breeze. As I complain about my body and increasing aches and pains, I see their tenacity and unapologetic presence. They don't appear to be complaining. I sense only gratitude. I am SO grateful for this group and this practice. I am feeling more and more part of this great Earth
Day 41 of 101: (September)
My practice of presence this past week has had me turning to wonder and awe more than once. SO many times I have heard myself say, "I haven't noticed that before!" This morning it is the small peep peep of the young goldfinches out the bedroom window. Isn't it late for babies? I first heard them across the road where our garden and chickens are. I thought it was our newest chick, JOY, lost again. She was the only egg to hatch from a batch we allowed our hen Irene to sit on last month. They tend to stay with their hatch mates until they are quite a bit older so JOY has been alone since her moma decided she was old enough to fend for herself (usually about a month old). I followed the peeps through the raspberry patch and vegetable gardens, following the sound up a tree. It wasn't a lost chick, it was a flock of fledgling goldfinches and I got to watch the moma feeding them. Wings fluttering in the tree branches as they impatiently waited their turn. I have never noticed the site, or the sound, that led me there before.
Day 62 of 101 (October)
SO many times this week I was aware of my attempts to fix, save or control the earth...keeping "weeds" out of flower and garden beds, "feeding" my honey bees due to a dearth caused by drought, watering trees to "save" them.
Yet, interestingly the sunflowers I planted in the garden are only a portion of the size of the ones that come up on their own (likely planted by birds.) Every year we work around a few of the "volunteers" to bask in their magnificence. Here is one from last year! How might I learn from nature's ways? To embrace what happens while I am planning my life! To be nimble like the trees swaying in the breeze! That my droopiness is a survival mechanism!
Day 77 of 101 (October)
I am a volunteer at the International Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico and am finding immense and surprising earth-based wonderings.
Hot air balloons are a human invention. But their magic is only possible because of air currents. Air currents we cannot even see. Unlike birds, or even sailboats, they cannot steer. They can ONLY go up or down and where the air currents take them. I never realized that air goes different directions at different levels. A balloon pilot has to go up or down to find the current going the direction that they want to go. I stand and stare at the balloons, floating up and down - going different directions in the same sky. I am mesmerized by them, but more by the air. They are beautiful, yes, but it is their canvas, the sky, that makes their beauty possible. The sky backdrop, blues and pinks, clouds and mountains, create the magic.
Day 98 of 101 (October)
Sara and I worked as if it was the last day before a huge blizzard. Splitting and stacking wood, moving all the yard furniture in, harvesting all that is left to harvest (lots of green tomatoes.) All things more easily completed with 2 people, each with 2 working arms (before I go in for arm surgery). Like crooked trees, the human body learns to adapt. I'm sure I will find ways to carry on (aka - tomatoes) even during recovery. In the frenzy, I neglected to notice anything but the task at hand. And yet, all that we were doing WAS with earth's blessings and abundance. Perhaps the boxes of tomatoes on the kitchen floor are my practice for today.
Paula J. Pedersen tends a micro-farm and gardens amidst the forests of the Lake Superior Watershed in Wisconsin- close to the arbitrary border that connects with Minnesota. Along with being a Courage and Renewal facilitator, she is a consultant for organizations seeking a more just and inclusive lens.