What would a Summer infused with Saints feel like? What might unfold when I surrender summer into the serenade of the Saints? While these three words inspired the series I offered called Summer of Saints, it's also served as a guiding star for me this past summer. 

Last week, I went to breakfast with a new friend here in Colorado. On my walk over to meet up with her, I was reflecting on the upcoming series I'm facilitating called Doing Things Differently. A question present in my consciousness was – how can I speak to those who yearn to experience a fresh start yet are just … over it? Frozen over? Have already tried doing things differently only to end up in the same place, inside and out?

In a culture where left-brained logic rules systems, structures, thoughts, and ways of being, believing in fairies (let alone having a real, down-to-earth relationship with them) seems… well, way too out there. After childhood, there isn’t much encouragement or permission to lean into the imaginal, to the magical, to the streams of blessings that generously pour through intimacy with nature.

In the process of endings and beginnings, in the process of completing seasons and chapters and welcoming in new ones, we are like the meadow. There are parts of ourselves, our personalities, our ways of being, our imprints, and our lifestyle that come and go. There are parts of us that were never meant to move with us into the next season. There are parts of us that are meant to return to the Earth to decay into compost.

If my human experience were a book, I'd imagine the 2022 title (so far) to be…

This past week, I hosted a small dinner gathering at my home with some newer friends.

It was one of those perfect Northern nights, where dusk blanketed the horizon in an indigo-pink symphony.

I want to take a moment to extend a honey-warm welcome into the first newsletter of 2022! I have an old-fashioned soul in the sense that when I sit down to write to you here, I imagine my keyboard as ink, and my hands become a feather-tipped quill while the screen becomes papyrus. I envision cozying up next to a glowing hearth and invite words that embody integrity and sincerity to pour forth like prayers in their own timing.

Perhaps in the midst of these trying times, exhaustion has set in and you’re reading this thinking, I’m too tired to consider what questions I’m leaning into. I don’t have the energy. If that’s you, I hear you and honor your capacity. Perhaps your question might sound something like: how can I tend to and care for myself right here and now… what do I really need?

There is a place on Earth where humans exist in harmony with nature. Where heartfelt exchange is the currency. Where organic food doesn’t need to be labeled because it was obviously grown biodynamically with love in the garden just outside the door, so who needs a label?

I lovingly encourage you to talk to your animals, plants, the land that surrounds you, and of course - humans! When you enter challenging conversations with sincerity and openness, what comes forward may completely shift your perspective. In some circles, a shift in perspective is the definition of a miracle.