Severance and Preparation

So I packed up my little apartment, which has homed me wonderfully this past year and a half, and found friends to move in for a few months while I am away. Although the idea of giving everything away, in the spirit of a Native American Lakota ‘wopila’ ceremony, has a place in my heart, it is not the time for that. The past weeks have been so full with travel, and so I am being prepared by experiences rather than planning. I spent a week in the high desert at Quail Springs with an amazing group of students from the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Vermont… they came to California for their senior trip to experience nature connection, reflection, community service, council. We had such a great time, that I took them up on an invitation to come to their graduation a few weeks later, making my first ever trip to Vermont. While there, I stayed with friends at Knoll Farm and the Center for Whole Communities, beautiful folks with dedication and implementation to effect great change. I then flew to British Columbia to participate in the 5th Annual International Indigenous Leadership Gathering hosted by the Sta’li’imc people in the mountains near Lillooet. Four hundred people gathered from all over the world – coming together for ceremony, traditional teachings and prayers for the earth and all beings. We began the 4 day gathering with a walk up the sacred mountain – a place where men and women go to quest for a vision each year. Many thanks to the community for hosting such a special event. After all was cleaned up and left better than we found it, we left Darrel Bob (friend, teacher, community organizer and ceremonial activist) and headed west to Vancouver Island for an amazing few days near Tofino. On summer solstice we paddled a traditional cedar canoe with Chris and his family who were preparing for the Tribal Journeys later this month. I flew back to LAX and drove directly back to Quail Springs to participate in a Permaculture Design Course for International Development taught by many wonderful teachers, primarily friend and mentor, Warren Brush (check out the projects of he and his wife, Cyndi —Regenerative Earth Farm, Casitas Valley Creamery, Quail Springs Permaculture) and a dear man, Joseph Lentanyoi, of the Masai in Kenya who founded Permaculture Research Institute of Kenya. I offered council as a part of the teachings of invisible structures and we created a strong circle of listening. It was a full and inspiring 2 weeks, immersed in philosophy and strategic solutions for a more peaceful and just world. My last night at Quail Springs on the new moon, I fasted at the springs to make offerings on behalf of my journey. I completed my time in California with the honor of co-hosting the Ojai Foundation’s Annual Gathering of Council Carriers on July 13-14, with friend and colleague Lori Austein. (Photos from left: my apartment, giant cedar forest on Meares Island, IILG, Quail Springs handicrafts)

The Call

On March 1 of this year, my grandfather, Gil Slutzky, transitioned peacefully from this world after 98 years. In the days following, it became clear to me that now is the time for an ancestral journey. To walk on the land that my paternal relatives called home, at least for several generations. At this point, I am not sure how long they lived in the area before leaving in 1906 due to the pogroms. My grandmothers uncle was killed in his front yard at that time. This took place in what is now the country of Belarus, a current dictatorship. Though they lived there for some time, and one line took the name of a local river and town, as their surname (Slutzk), the Ashkenazi tribal people were nomadic, and I have a feeling they traveled through what is now Russia and Mongolia. I have had a long time love affair with Mongolia-stirred by the stories, traditions, people and culture. So bit by bit, the pieces came together for this journey. There are many layers and desires, and most significantly a commitment to follow the thread of spirit and let the mystery unfold itself. I leave on July 20 from Los Angeles, fly into Moscow and then directly to Minsk, in Belarus. I plan to visit the town of Slutzk as well as other towns I know my relatives lived in. Before the 20th century, Slutsk was 90% Jewish, now 1%. Belarus had the most deaths of any other place during WWII. I go to reclaim a part of myself, to live according to the dream, to honor those who came before and to become a global citizen. I feel the increasing importance of local action and rootedness as well as global consciousness and cultural exchange. The old model of humanitarian aid is imperial and outdated, and I feel this next cycle of my life will be devoted to the mutual enrichment and cultural regeneration across cultures. I am so grateful for the love and support in my life that enables me to take this journey.

Devotion to Listening

  

“Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to understand what it is truly about – quite apart from what I would like it to be about – or my life will never represent anything real in the world, no matter how earnest my intentions.”
Parker J. Palmer from “Let Your Life Speak”