Phebe at Morey, sacred Incan site in the Andes of Peru
BeingChange has been a long time in the making and has gone through many evolutions before settling into “Weaving the Great Turning Through Circles, Art, & Story.” Though I imagine the seeds were planted possibly before I was even born, it wasn’t until I was in graduate school that they began to take root. I attended Antioch University in Seattle, majoring in Whole Systems Design. This unique program encourages students to explore a question or an issue systemically and to design a response that, when implemented, can embody real change.
Suffice it to say that I brought a big – a HUGE – how can I save the world-type question and it took years of letting go and listening to my heart before a discernible path emerged. Often this was agonizing. While I strongly sensed I was on the right track, I couldn’t seem to “make anything of it.” This led to many moments of despair and self-doubt. More recently, part of my despair was from my perception that, at fifty-plus years old, time was running out if I ever wanted to “make something of myself.” (More letting go….)
Looking back I can see that, of course, things were cooking. I can see that when a person has a passion, then spirit is at work, and I need to trust that. I learned that it’s important to not get TOO far ahead of myself and miss the insights and opportunities that are presenting themselves all along the way. Luckily, if anything, I’m persistent. I kept plugging away. I took trainings, read voraciously, led various events and workshops, involved myself in various issues, went on a vision quest and traveled to South America, spent hours in nature, developed an eclectic spiritual practice, and so on.
Eventually, it became more and more clear what made my heart truly hum AND it was still unclear how to put all the pieces together in a way that “made sense.” (Even more to let go of!) What were the pieces? ….the Great Turning, a new story, my love of indigenous peoples, wanderlust, spirit, nature, circles, poetry and writing…Eureka! Now I’m getting somewhere!
Imagine: Gathering in circles, sharing stories, finding our voices, honoring our experiences, empowering each other on the journeys of our heart, envisioning a better world for our children and for all beings. Imagine sharing ritual and ceremony to evoke our deepest imagination and creativity, and manifesting what emerges into a story, a poem, a dance, a song, a work of art. Imagine weaving these works of art back into our world, into our psyche, and we begin turning….
The other piece of this puzzle is my crazy, unrelenting wanderlust. I absolutely have to travel to learn about the world and to feed my soul. This year I hope to travel by bicycle to points as yet unknown, doing circles and gathering stories along the way as well as spending deep time in wilderness. Stay tuned. I may occasionally need a couch and a shower!
All I know is I must follow all this and see where it leads. Even as I still struggle with my fears and my uncertainties, it feels right. It feels like home.