April New Moon: Seeding Community

"Spring" photo by Jacque Bullock

Spring is poking its head up here—maybe even it's trunk. The asparagus has bolted on our side of the street, while finding our neighbors’ across the street is still more like an Easter egg hunt. More and more of us have bandaid’s across our arms and are tentatively walking towards each other with open arms. The charge of growth and momentum feels upon us.

Pardon my absence in writing for March’s Full Moon. I am feeling in a big way how the invitations I put forth show up not only on the land but manifest in my waking life.

Last New Moon, I shared of my cat’s passing, and asked us to create a ritual around the lives we have lived and do live. When I wrote this, the visual that came into my mind was of harvesting stones and making a sort of timeline with them. When I was asked to co-create an Easter Rock Hunt, it seemed like a very kismet meeting of a wander and an offering. While I harvested stones from the rock pile dug out of the parsnip row for both projects, I set rocks on large paper. I had made concentric circles that represented for me some kind of time, or expansion, the increased ripple effect of our lives as we grow older. One rock presented itself as representing something like my soul, another my body. The others were more fluid—and I felt like I was playing some kind of magical chess game as certain rocks asked to be brought in, and then discarded. When it was time to “cook” them into the version of life that I am in and asking for now, I placed them in my kiddo’s rubber farm tub in a sort of mandala with the directions under water—seeing their truer colors emerge. The rocks chosen for the mandala included rocks I have collected for years, or been given, as well as ones fresh out of the ground.

In my personal life, I was invited back into a personal relationship from an old life—and found it to be no longer a fit; while my partnership with Andy was invited forward into new possibilities and choices—that feels like it gives us both wings and expands love.

This blog project is now a year old—the Proposal being offered March 27th of last year, soon after we found ourselves in isolation and lockdown. Anniversaries often spark and encourage reflection, and as I come through a full circle of this project, I am sitting with what the intentions of this project were, are, and how they make sense now. All of us have had quite a year and find ourselves in new places within ourselves now. The intentions of this blog still rings true to me: to foster connection and appreciation of the land that we are part of and is part of us, and thereby connect us more to ourselves and one another. Community as part of a whole of beings, communion with and through the natural world, communion for ourselves.

I have made a choice to close the Wander Zoom group—thank you for all who participated in this community together. In its absence, I invite those who feel called to share of their wanders in the comments section. 

AND, as we gain more ability to be in the company of others, especially outside, and in warmer weather. I invite you to seed a wander gathering (at least once :)—Find a person, or a few people in your area you could take a day with on a wander—using either a wander seeded here or one of your own inspirations, questions. (If you are curious about others who may be reading this blog in your area, contact me) Each of you can take your own separate wander on the same land, and then come together in council. If you have questions about how to do this, please contact me. I am delighted to be a resource for this. Let us go local! Being in reciprocity with the land, air, and water we walk with each day.

This indeed is the Wander invitation for this month—find a friend, or friends to take a wander to on the land. Set a sacred space through intention and a ritual that resonates with all of you together. (Some ideas are to drum or make sound together in some way; to honor the Cardinal Directions; to offer Gratitude to the land; read a poem) Then set an amount of time you want to Wander for (an hour? 2?). Having a shared intention for Wander—you may each go your separate ways and let the land lead you—a threshold will find you, and as you go over it, you sink into deeper relationship with the land—as your wandering finishes, you will step back over this or another threshold into the place of gathering. Maybe you take some time to journal. Then come back together with your fellow wanderers to share of your experience—perhaps there is a time limit suggested for each share. As one person speaks from their heart of their experience, the others listen to this wander with open hearts and closed mouths—without crosstalking. When each person has shared, you may choose to close your circle as you opened it or in some other way that feels right for your group. Share some food after if you wish.

I would love to hear of your experience with this, if you are so bold as to accept the invitation, knowing it may be awkward, AND life affirming! to try something that may be new.

April’s Wanders in 2020 were Praise and Thanks, and Willingness to be Witnessed. These are two good beginning possibilities to bring into your Wander Gathering as intentions to offer "simple" ways to be in relationship with oneself and the land.

If you are in the Moab area reading this, and would like to explore being part of a Wander circle here, please get in touch.