Each December, as one year winds down and another is just a glimmer of possibility, I try to encapsulate the outgoing year—and how I experienced it—in a single word or phrase. The year I regained my health by losing weight, went skydiving and took a pilgrimage to Italy with my mother, my word was Joy.…
Have you heard the phrase holding space? One person can hold space for another by just listening to what they have to say—without judging, without problem-solving, without comparing their experiences. It is a loving, compassionate act. Sometimes holding space can mean literally “holding space,” offering someone a place to be as they sort things out…
On a retreat, one of the first things I did in my guest house room was open the shades all the way to the top. I wanted to be as close to the trees and the sky as I could. Surrounded by trees, there was no need for privacy shades. Books are another form of…
Jeweled net There to see Passing overhead Glistening orange Setting sun Moving by grace Ancestral intimacy Threads unseen Over harvest corn Veiled in snow Sight spectacular Smiling heart Ephemeral appearance Permanent actuality Ever to remain Here with me Star-crossed lover At first sight Once in a lifetime Moment Savored eternally —Keith Knapp, friend of Prairiewoods…
What is Peace? What does it mean? It’s more than a cessation of war, of violence or fighting. It’s more than keeping up a façade of pleasantness, or “appropriate” behavior. It goes much deeper than appearances, pat phrases or pretense. Deep within, we are connected. Connected with everyone and everything, vibrating and oscillating, breathing with…
Today, gratitude remains one of my favorite spiritual practices. “Every day is gift.” I know it soul-deep. Daily I’m grateful for all that Earth offers us. As children, my sisters and brothers knew the blood, sweat and tears that nourished Garden. We ate most of the year from her harvest and while we weren’t, as…
I sought out Grandmother Oak today for some grand and motherly advice She showed me her scars and her broken parts And said “See how I still rise?” “I have wept many tears for my fallen friends, and for the creatures that didn’t survive. My tears wet the ground and nourished my roots. Now see…
Today I walked the labyrinth with a friend for the first time in quite a while. Little did I know that in that one simple act I would experience the fullness and the heart of all that is Prairiewoods. We walked through the woods on the way to the labyrinth, in golden light, and felt…
Christmas is less than two months away, and it’s time to get in the holiday spirit! Join us Saturday, Nov. 19, from 8 a.m.–1 p.m. at Prairiewoods for a day of shopping and holiday cheer. The Prairiewoods Holiday Bazaar features more than a dozen local artists creating handcrafted goods. Here’s a sampling of what you…
Why does the willow weep? Why do pears grow in pairs? Do bees pray on their knees? How do Susans get black eyes? Who packs the parachutes the seeds of milkweed need? A face in the bark was looking back at me. Shards of ancient energy. When does old become ancient? —Diane Wheeler Dunn, friend…