“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.” ~ Isak Dinesen

What a deeply moving, intense weekend! Coming home felt similar to returning to my regular routine after my parents’ funerals. Following a time of full-spectrum emotions and tender care for one another, of seeing and being seen, you come away from a weekend like that and it’s impossible not to see people differently. You feel as well as see them.

Thank you all for your stories, for sharing from the heart, for gathering the wisdom and encouragement of your encounters with the living earth. It was a rich weekend of excavating and exploring, wonder and beauty. Here are some resources to keep hold of the thread and continue cultivating new stories. (All files are PDF. If you right click, you can save them directly to your computer.)

Poems shared during the weekend. There are some bonus poems at the bottom of this page — including Karina’s gorgeous reimagination of “The Fountain.”

The story of Skywoman Falling

The story of Ariadne as a blog post, including Martin Shaw’s suggestion for how to listen deeply.

The story of Daphne as a blog post.

Here’s the river song we sang after the closing council:

We have a very special retreat coming up in early October (with special guest David Abram). More information can be found on the main Restorying page. If you can’t come but want to support scholarships to allow others to attend, here’s the donation page.

After a previous retreat, we set up a forum to keep the conversation and sharing going. It has been used sporadically and you’ll find some great stuff there. If you’d rather not join it, you can also share things that inspire you on this page in the comments.

The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

William Stafford

Do say, do say,
There is water
at the well
inside you
still —
refreshing,
wise
and creative.
Each foot step,
a heartbeat.
The gnats
in the sunlight,
dancing
atoms.
The forest embraces you,
you’re not a stranger
and nothing
you bring here
is a surprise.
You belong.
Don’t you hear
the celebration?
–No, no don’t, no buts.–
Listen to me:
HEAR
the celebration,
occurring
right
now.
It’s in your honor.
The spider
the deer
the ant
the moss
the roots.
And let’s not forget
the worm
the tick
the snake.
We all belong
or we wouldn’t be here.
There is room here for you,
and your dreams.
Now, can you say,
oh do, do say,
There is water
at the well
inside you.

~ Karina McGovern Chase