A sense of belonging

a sense of belonging

Pachamama 
I follow the path 
it is here, 
I am remembering 
                 
– Hindertje Heemstra

It’s the 10-year anniversary of OMEC so let's celebrate with inspired poetry and prose. 

The 6-week virtual spring gathering for the nature-inspired writing course, Remembering Our Place in the Sacred Circle of Life, that I (Christina Burress) recently completed facilitating brought participants together via Zoom from Norway, England, and the US, including New York, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, and California. 

We started simply. Our daily intention was to spend at least 5-minutes outside as a way of strengthening our senses and deepening our connection with the natural world. Then each week, participants were offered curated materials with a particular focus like gratitude for our ancestry, recognition of our land of origin, the interplay of the elements, our interconnection with animal and plant kin, and the configuration of our geographical environs. During our last meeting, I asked participants if anything had shifted for them – had a new story merged? Overwhelmingly, the responses included an increased sense of belonging.

The writing that follows is a glimpse of the type of artful expression inspired from the simple practice of noticing, engaging, and dialoguing with nature. 

I Belong to the Fire
by Jeanne 
​
I belong to the Fire
To the ancient funeral pyre
To the flames that
Transform
Where I am
Reborn
 
To the flames that
Give birth
From the ashes
Unearthed
 
To the flames that
Bring light
In our darkest night

To the flames
That takes me home
Where I no longer roam.​

---

MOUNTAINS AND BORDERS 
by Jessica Deguara

One teaspoon at a time
Mountains are moved to the ocean.
It seems impossible, incomprehensible
That this is so. 
But it is so, and beyond the limits of the human mind. 
The Earth has been here for eons,
Composite of compounds and elements from 
Galactic explosions at the beginning of time. 
It humbles me to know how short a moment 
We humans have been here on the Earth
And what a calamitous mess we have
Made of it. 
Where did we go wrong? 
Was it some evolutionary mistake?
Are we writing ourselves out of history now?
As Mountains continue to move from 
high peaks to oceans over millions of years
One teaspoon at a time. 
​
What the silence said:

What do you love more than what you imagine is your singular life? 
This is the fundamental problem of humans:
Imagining we are all separate:
Not Whole or One:
That this is where we come from and are. 
Evolved with this sense of separateness, individuality
We create borders and divisions. 
Can we begin to dissolve these solid walls perhaps a teaspoon at a time, one breath?
(A bucketful would be better as there’s an urgency here.)
Love our oneness more than singularity? 
To connect to our Soul and the Oneness of all beings and the Universe, 
Consciousness itself, 
Is the new beginning, 
The New Earth, the formation of a new landscape, 
where we merge and are in harmony 
with the ebb and flow of life and death 
Lose our definitions, become softer, flow, as One, 
One breath at a time. 

---

Merging
by Jill P.

suspended in air, tasting nectar,
a moment of joy and all melts into everything,
leaving you and me in focus,
connecting through thought,
flitting from flower to flower tasting the sweetness offered,
curiosity and innocence blend into wholehearted love,
boundaries broken as our bubbles of energy connect and merge,
the buzz of a bee brings me back to the beginning,
watching a hummingbird, tasting nectar from the lemon flower.​

---

Dear future children of the world,

There will probably be moments when you will feel lonely, sad, and truly lost. In Those moments when you will be desperately searching for truth – some words you can rely on – but there might be none around you. Well, in bouts of despair, find a tree, a stone or a hill, and lean on it. Suddenly, you will feel a strong wall behind your back, the warmth and shagginess of the bark under your hand, and the chilliness of the sand under your feet. You will feel a fundamental power of life around you that moves clouds in the sky, assists mountains to take their shape, encourages birds to sing their best song, and empowers tiny creatures to build their castles… They all work hard to fill the space around you with their lives, and you are always invited to fill theirs with yours. 
                                    – Nadja

---

Peat
by Maureen

Unleashing spirits from the past 
Souls and symbols both appear 
Pungent smoke rising upwards fast 
Releasing mysteries of yesteryear

What secrets do your vapors hold ?
I feel your energy as you pass through 
Mother nature has stories to be told 
So much, that we can learn from you

Your fleeting presence is respected
On a scent of amber, oak and moss 
Everything on our journey is connected 
I give you thanks, as our paths cross.

---

brushing off the dirt
by Primo Justice

Everything i'm letting go 
It falls off
Like sludge
Growing through this muggy slimy ocean
Flowers bloom every spring
In this hot sun 
My detritus fertilizes the flowers
Bloom, baby, bloom, 
Over millions of years
Mountains are carried
To the bottom of the sea
Teaspoon by teaspoon
New plate movement
The rejuvenation of rivers
Life finds a way
Slow and sleepy
Ease
Until the landscape is quiet, humble
And haunted
By absent things

---

I invite you to explore the programs offered through the Olympic Mountain EarthWisdom Circle (OMEC). Each of these programs encourage a sacred and responsible relationship with the Earth, supporting us to move wakefully through personal and planetary change. 
​
Remembering Our Place in the Sacred Circle of Life is offered again in the Fall from September 6th to October 11th. Please email me at christinamburress@gmail.com with any questions. I hope to see you there. ​

From my heart to yours, 
Christina Burress 
OMEC Board Member ​