“We gather together”
In the middle of the winter seven years ago, I retired to Cape Cod. My brother lived a couple of towns over and a friend, who lived near my parents’ former house, were the extent of the people I knew. The Cape was beautiful and familiar. I was hoping to reestablish a central place for our extended family who love Cape Cod. Walking past houses in the new neighborhood with my dogs that winter, I observed patterns, making up stories about people’s lives. Luckily, I gave up that practice by meeting and making friends with the real folks that live here.
A friend from Maryland told me about Pilgrims Landing (now the Center for the Spiritual Journey) and a workshop she’d attended. “You could teach there. It would be a good fit.” I started going on Thursdays to walk a canvas map of the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth, seeking a center internally and externally. I kept coming back, making good friends, participating in workshops and walks on the outdoor labyrinth. I do teach there now and feel woven into companionships within this community.
That spring, I discovered a knitting group that met at the library. Pulling out an unfinished sweater, I went. The first time, a woman said “this is a good place to make friends”, so I kept coming back. Seven years later, I keep coming back for fun, learning new knitting skills and tapping into their wealth of knowledge about our community and life. A group of four knitters asked me to join their walks, kayak adventures and potluck dinners. Anchoring me even more deeply into this community that I now call home.
The Museum of Natural History and the Council on Aging have welcomed my ideas, my desire to volunteer, encouraging and supporting classes that I’ve wanted to offer. This helps me feel like a valuable person within a greater whole.
It’s like a nutritious seven layer cake:
My family
My home, gardens and wetland
My neighborhood
The organizations with which I volunteer
The groups and friends with whom I grow through valued connection
The town I live in that gathers for town meetings at which I have a voice
This living being of Earth, a profound teacher, who teaches and engages me with infinite love
Holy Light is the delicious frosting on this wonderfully powerful cake.
Community is a complex process of engagement on many levels, like overlapping venn diagrams of interrelated levels of being, built on the reciprocity of giving and receiving. It is necessary for our future as a human species to learn to honor the other species with whom we share our home on this amazing planet Earth and live in community together.
Come join our monthly Soul Care Circle Community, starting on zoom, January 2, 6 to 7:30. It will be a good place to meet new people, to learn from each other and gather support as we move into new times.
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