Day three at Shambhala and I’m humming. The artists staged what I heard was an incredible improvisational performance today that took the idea of being together in a field to a whole new level. I was in a conversation with some Art of Hosting mates at the time that was alos about fields and we were cracking open some deep learning about the ways in which we work together as friends, but the upshot was the same.
At the faculty retreat last weekend I sat in with the artists and had a conversation that was about the kind of work that art makes possible. I posited the assumption that fields cannot be created without art, an assumption we explored both in conversation and with an improvisational piece. Today one of the artists in that conversation, Wendy Morris, told me that one of her takes on the rock balancing thing was that the rocks make visible the very fine lines of balance. In the same way, art can illuminate the fine and subtle dynamics in systems and in seeing them crystalized with beauty another level of awareness and possibility becomes visible. This is certainly true in my expereince using poetry and graphic recording to harvest meaning from conversational process.
I am learning this week to enter deeply into the practice of “process artist” and to invite other who might be deep practitioners of conversational arts to explore other forms as well and integrate it with their practice. It’s simply a way of seeing differently, and sense making in a way that invites collaborative beauty.
As a taste, my rock balancing student, Jean-Sebastien posted lovely video today which is worth a look – and yes this means you Thomas.
Photo by Jaqian
What a sweet time in my life this is.
Still on the road for another couple of weeks, off to Nova Scotia to be with good friends in Yarmouth at the The Shire and then teaching at the Shambhala Institute.
In the meantime, I’m taking a few days at home to celebrate my birthday tomorrow, pick berries and have some fun.
Regular blogging will resume in a couple of weeks.
So my faithful reader(s)…on a small blog hiatus because frankly I’ve been busier than ever and somehow unable to write about it all. STarting tomorrow, for the next six weeks, I’m in New York, Kingston, Ont., Calgary, Campbell River and Halifax. I have about five days at home between now and the end of June.
The good news is that my 30 day learning project has come to an end, with some really cool learning, which I’ll write about, and my garden is blooming nicely which means that the few days I’ve been at home have been spent coaxing peas on to a trellis and hanging out with my children and playing music. So things are good, but the blog has been the space that has become neglected.
Normal pontificating will resume soon though.
On my way home now from Phoenix, from a gathering that was remarkable on many levels. It will continue to resonate for months and years to come. Truly, it was a lifetime kind of experience.
One small note: in the shuttle on the way to the airport a few of us were talking about what will happen when the world truly starts to unshrink. When airline travel becomes prohibitive and fuel costs make transporting goods too expensive, the world will begin to unshrink, find its real size again. And in that moment, I had a strong image of the world uncrumpling and in the folds and cracks, new local creativity, food, sustenance, culture and life will unfold.
It makes sense to take a stand for a place now. To have a place where you can contribute to the local resources and the local life.
I’m tired and happy, and loving going home.
A great quote from a fun article on knuckleballers:
“Throwing a knuckleball for a strike is like throwing a butterfly with hiccups across the street into your neighbor’s mailbox” – Willie Stargill.