“We are pregnant with a new earth.
All of us.
The virus is beginning the contractions.
Shedding light on our fears as we get closer to the birth.
What we are in the process of letting go of
What we will take with us.
What we will leave behind.”—Kali Quinn, “Learning about the process of the short film: Love to You and the Earth as One”
What new Earth is being born in us?
Kali Quinn, author of I Am Compassionate Creativity, is a facilitator of creative play and community dialogue. She is a storyteller whose work regularly takes her around the country, including a brief stay at Prairiewoods several years ago. Her work and ours naturally intertwine around topics of Earth care and community building, and a lasting friendship was born.
“I saw how sometimes we surround ourselves with walls
While other times we open gates to forgiveness,
Build ramps to compassion,
And somehow even crack a window for our worst enemy to climb through.”—Kali Quinn, Love to You and the Earth as One
In this time of social distancing, Kali and her partner and dog find themselves isolating in a 14-foot circular space that is completely off the grid in Arizona. As she traveled cross country to get there, she created a poetic narrative video in honor of Earth titled Love to You and the Earth as One.
I invite you to watch her beautiful, lyrical video (see it here) and consider what new Earth is being born in us during these uncertain times. Decades from now, how will we remember this time? Will it feel like “a gateway to a new culture rooted in care for ourselves, the world and one another”?
—Andi Lewis, Prairiewoods marketing coordinator