To ReMember: our inherent interconnection with all beings. Our kin. To inhale the breath of the forest, the sun, and the continuous presence of these relatives who are so much older than we are. What wisdom do they carry which we can only guess!
Muir Woods is, like so many other parks and institutions and families and people, in the midst of re-narrating its own history. Many movements have prompted this re-narration, including critiques of John Muir himself, the complexity of our relationship to the so-called 'wild' and the places forcibly removed from the coastal miwok peoples.
I could almost feel the dynamic tensions of this history as we walked through the park. In one sign, they had added what looked at first glance to be yellow sticky notes to the pre-existing timeline. The newer signs (which were not actually sticky notes, but embedded in the display itself) told/hinted at parts of the history initially dis-membered - of the coastal Miwok people; of the white women's groups who both pushed for what was then known as Sequoia Grove to be protected (from their husband's industries, I wondered) while at the same time excluded black women from their group's membership. According to one park ranger, they initially had these 'newer' pieces tacked on to the sign, and then some people who visited the park started tearing them off. So they made the signage more permanent.
History can seem abstract. Learning it can seem removed from daily life. The image of people tearing off the more accurate signs reminds us of how very present and still contentious, important, and relevant is the re-narration process.
The past kisses the present, like origami.
ReMember: the places where we were disconnected from ourselves and our kin. ReMember accurately, so that we can come together again in a better, more holistic way. ReMember theodicy, that we may heal.
The next ReMembering cohort is starting again.
Not just to re-narrate. Not just to put in sticky notes into our living stories. But to practice the art of remembering, including internalization/digestion, so the energy moves in and through and around and then out of us, hopefully shifted and transmuted, out through our hands and our actions, as well as our stories and our songs.
In some ways, the journey is long, or at least, longer than the 3-week land acknowledgment course we just ran (and which was so great!). 12 sessions over 24 weeks. We start at the end of April and end before October - before Indigenous Peoples Day. In other ways, it is short. A summer journey through time and space. It is far shorter than the years (7? 10?) it took me to bring the material together, to synthesize, to convey, to learn the skills to create and hold the space for you to go on your journey. I'd like to think that the course saves you a lot of time. Certain it is far, far less expensive than what it cost for me to learn this material - financially, as well as emotionally. So we can say this course saves you time and money.
But it's not really about saving time or money.
It's about the art of ReMembering. Not just post-it notes on national parks surrounded by people chattering about whatever people chat about. But the depth. The power. The pain and the sacredness of re-membering. What emerges after the course - years and years to come.
To join, just email me if you are interested.
We also have an informational webinar coming up this Sunday, April 16, 1 pm to 2 pm ET.
