I pulled into the drive for Everwood Farmstead on a warm afternoon, feeling the luxury of time at the start of a week-long artist’s retreat and the self-imposed pressure of wanting to use it well. In my backpack was a partially finished manuscript. The first two hundred pages were pretty well crafted, the last hundred trailed off into notes and incomplete thoughts. The bones of … Continue reading Everwood
Today is Easter. We woke up for the first time in our rented townhome. On a mattress on the floor. After two and a half years on the road…900 days and 93,000 miles…we have our own place again. I’ve been looking far and wide for beauty and I’ve found it. But now it’s time for a new season. We’ve come home to be closer to … Continue reading Day 1
We all carry wisdom on this journey. I’ve heard some of the most profound stories from people who have said, “Oh, you don’t want to talk to me…I don’t have anything special to say.” We gather little bits of knowledge as we bump along the road of life. In some weird twist of fate, sometimes the rougher the path, the more we learn. And since … Continue reading Project Sanctuary
In the midst of life’s storms, what brings you comfort? In the noise of daily life, what delivers calm? When you are feeling uncertain, what returns you to the values that you know are at the core of who you are? For many of us, the past 16 months or so have been unsettling. Uncertain. As we are pushed and pulled by the news of … Continue reading What centers you?
“Every now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” That quote by French poet Guillaume Apollinaire was posted behind the ticket counter at the ferry dock north of Chelan, Washington. We were on our way to Holden Village and it’s a journey to get there. A 1,529 mile drive west. 20 miles by boat up a wilderness … Continue reading Holden Village
Claudia Horwitz is founding director of Stone Circles at the Stone House, a 70-acre retreat center outside Mebane, North Carolina, dedicated to the support of people and organizations working toward social change. Claudia’s efforts grew out of an awareness that social justice work could exact a tremendous toll on people, and her desire to make the work of building social movements more sustainable. “There are … Continue reading Claudia Horwitz
I was nervous for what we would see. Under a warm blue sky, we motored north through the cold, deep waters of Lake Chelan, past rocky ridges, charred pine, and ashen mountainsides. One year ago…to the day…we were evacuated from Holden Village as the Wolverine Fire raced through the dry wilderness. We drove out through thick smoke and arrived at the Lucerne dock to wait … Continue reading A slow boat to paradise
Last year I taught a 2-day retreat at Prairie Oaks Institute with musician Neal Hagberg and facilitator Chris Johnson. It was a pilot of sorts and we weren’t sure what to expect as 15 strangers gathered in the comfortable space together. As we found our rhythm, the result was rich conversation and positive reviews. In fact, the main comment we heard as people headed toward … Continue reading Retreat repeat
