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April 2021
Phoenixes Rising is a long-held dream and intention of mine. It emerged in the year that I turned 50 and that my dad died, as I worked with the idea of legacy— what he left behind, what I carry forward. In the years since, my son has entered adulthood and now I stand for all the children, both human and wild. I currently live in Missoula, Montana, lands that before colonialism were home to the Salish and Pend d'Oreille peoples-- developing programs and projects rooted in a small renovated home and an urban corner lot that I'm turning into a living classroom. New here, I am also intent on building human community and linking with collaborators, so that Phoenixes Rising roots here as a learning community: based in practices that support each person in discovering and cultivating the particular gifts and talents they have to bring to the larger world. Practices, projects and workshops include community building and activism looking towards street theater and more equitable American culture, permaculture and sustainability, rites of passage and legacy work. A particular focus of Phoenixes Rising is intergenerational: linking young people & adults in their late teens, their twenties, their thirties, with an engaged circle of committed elders who are stepping into their decades of service beyond mid-life adulthood. Each will inspire, witness and mentor the other, based in rich community and experiences together. |
"When I am out on the land, I sometimes imagine a large council circle that I am part of, in deep listening with the trees, the animals, the ancestors, the earth, the sky, and the awakening people. In a broad sense, my dreams for the future are to be a part of the telling and unfolding of the sacred story, of the people awakening and coming into balance with the land." Shane Sater, 20
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I believe that the elders and the youngers in particular are dream holders and dream co-creators for the larger collective. Not that we have fewer pressing concerns in our own lives.
But that the young have their native enthusiasm, energy and the kind of fresh hope linked with soul-searching questions of personal capacity that come with setting forth for the first time into the world. That elders carry seasoning and a blend of life-work completed, with dreams yet unrealized and a sense of time's preciousness. Living on each edge of adulthood- the younger side and the elder side- perhaps more easily than others we can enliven and connect dreams and perspective, in spite of the daily noise and calls, especially if we are in conversation with each other. And when either of us is discouraged— when the deep understandings we carry seem to have a hollow echo in our own ears— the living personal connection between younger and elder is what renews us with a warmth and hope beyond mere words. Please contact me with ideas for collaboration and support. |
CURRENT PROGRAMS
- Tending the Land We Call Home: Urban Gardening through a Permaculture Lens. A series of 3 classes by Zoom, with optional, additional hands-on labs. April 29, May 20, and June 17, 2021. See Programs page for flyer & registration (up by April 4).
- A community council circle across generations - socially-distanced in the back yard during mild weather, by Zoom otherwise, until in-person circles are again safe indoors.