Ask yourself, “What life wants to be lived through me?”

“In wildness is the preservation of the world” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Brilliant physicist and cosmologist, Brian Swimme recently suggested we simply substitute the word ‘resource’ for ‘relative’ to remind ourselves of our kinship with all living things. The salmon, for example would no longer be reduced to something for our use but rather become a relative to know and care for. This clever word exchange elegantly reveals our intrinsic interconnectedness with all of life. We would no sooner think of selling off our natural resources than selling our own mothers! A shift in perspective, indeed.

The time is ripe for shifting into new and fresh ways of knowing, being, and thinking. But perhaps there are clues in the not so new. If we look to the instruction-filled ecological systems of the natural world we see age old, ubiquitous examples of innovation, cooperation and community, or to the 14 billion year old story of the universe tellung us of an evolutionary push toward unstoppable creativity since the beginning, or to healthy, life-enhancing tribal cultures that supported each person to discover his or her particular and deeply fulfilling way of belonging to the world… then we can see the world as interactive and recognize that we come from this place (instead of own or control it) -- that we’re all in this together especially when we participate! By spending more time outside in nature, especially with our children, we are readily reminded that the changes we seek are actually well within our reach.

Learning together can also be a catalyst for such transformations through the relational and living inquiry of trans-disciplinary practices that further the conditions that invite: multiple intelligences; originality; creative ignition; critical thought; and personal, social and environmental responsibility. In dialogue and open exchange, we learn to become more ourselves, deeply understanding of the unique ways in which we are each meant to serve this world. It is both a personal and a planetary act of grace (and salvation) to develop ourselves in this way, to grow up rather than simply age, and take responsibility of how we can best serve in our place of belonging. This in turn contributes to the likelihood of keeping the world’s diversity of possibility alive and well and increasing exponentially.

Here is your invitation to learn about: sustainable and eco-systems based living; transition towns; hand-sculpted houses; and energy and emissions through the new Eco-Literacy Certificate. Grow organic food and healthy children, bee-keep, forage for mushrooms, explore ethnobotany. Become water smart, put your passion to work, change the world by telling a different story and just listen for a change. Find expression in art, music, drumming, and writing. Seek renewable leadership, lead as mensch, or lead from the inside out. Develop compassion from ecopsychology, draw from body-held wisdom in meditative practice. Journey to the wilds of Cougar Annie’s Garden or the far reaches of Mongolia to learn more about the mystery and spirit of the people, the land and the history of place.

Inspire by learning, stay awake and listen deeply for eloquence and unexpected teachers everywhere ...like futurist Meg Wheatley (Sept 30th), eco-philosopher Joanna Macy (Oct 8th), and social justice poet Drew Dellinger (May 1st). And not least of all, for those alumni who “learn until they know” instead of when the program ends, a 5 day post graduate residency certificate (Jan).

Ask yourself, “What life wants to be lived through me?” And perhaps, when we all participate in rich, wide-ranging opportunities for experiential and emergent life-long learning (here and elsewhere), we will all one fine day live into the answers.

Hilary Leighton,
Director, Continuing Studies