The beginnings of this

The beginnings of this blog have whispered themselves in me a few times over the last month. Now as my partner Andy and I retreat back to adopted Tennessee and leave our families for the last time before I embark on this new adventure, there is a certain sense of the reality of things setting in. Perhaps it is also The Straw Bale House book in my lap, the newly purchased knee pads and tool belt, the gifted insulated coveralls for the work to come, and the familiar and unfamiliar radio voices of the news. Each news story reminds me of a need for connection, effective collaboration, and self-reflective opportunities for people world wide—and the desperate longing to do something differently. As Rose sums up in The Last Jedi before she collapses, we will win this by “saving what we love” rather than being focused “on destroying what we hate”.

In an era where superheroes (and super villains) are celebrated for their mythic powers that are gifted by birth or a freak accident, I find myself wondering why I am not a Jedi knight?, and minimize the power of my actual contributions, whether through engagement or apathy. My real longing (not my Jedi fantasy) is to live purposefully, in my purpose, as part a humanity that understands itself as living member of the earth, and the joy and responsibility that come with that. This longing is the core of what has led me to sign up to be an intern with Community Rebuilds this Spring, where I will be working alongside many others to build 3 straw bale and cobb houses between Feb and June of this year to create 3 affordable houses for people living in Utah.

My intention with this writing is to have a document to help me track this evolving conversation with myself, our earth community, and a higher power.