Belonging and Butterflies in Times of Breakdown

Navigating the space between stories puts us up for an immense challenge. We must seek the others to find hope and support when that which we love falls away, rediscover how to grieve for what we lose and praise what is lost, and learn how to remain alive in the face of death. To not resist being wholly taken by awe at the birth of spring, because ... See more

The space between stories calls on us to reclaim our freedom. To let go of the need for a coherent story and prefabricated structures in favor of creativity. Collectively, we must break through the walls of habit and socialized ways of knowing and doing that define the old story of western culture.

love taught me that balancing the tension between unfolding my individuality and fusing with the greater whole is the sacred work of being alive.

Love is this deep knowing in my bones that I am because everything else is. Love is taking responsibility to allow all that is to fully unfold and express itself. “To fall in love outwardly”, because we can feel the unconditional love that the land gifts us if we allow our hearts to be open and fully receive.

We’re in dire need of a new cultural story to live by. Not to negate the old, as Sophie Strand writes, but to “compost” the stories that no longer serve us so they can become fertile ground from which a new story may emerge. A story that doesn’t tell us we’re separate from but deeply interconnected with all living beings. One that recognizes that h... See more

The space between stories is an invitation to sit with mystery and the uncertainty it holds.

when one story dominates, it risks exterminating others or doesn’t do justice to the reality it presumes to narrate. Storytelling, like ecosystems, needs diversity to thrive. And since stories have a direct impact on reality — to the point that we often mistake one for the other — we need to tell stories that enliven, provide solace, and inspire co... See more

“Our individual psychological doom manifests collectively as a universal ecological calamity. Both are interwoven with one another. Both are symptoms of a fundamental misunderstanding of ourselves and of reality. In a world of ruined aliveness, it is impossible to be alive oneself. Both inner aliveness and the aliveness of the natural world are fac... See more