When I talk about the possibility of leaving the earth better than I found it, I find myself eventually in front of a choice. Do I take the risk to do something different, and what is the cost if I don’t ? Take a look and give me some feedback in the comments section.

I was in St. Croix in February facilitating an Art of Mentoring (Vermont, Scotland, Ontario, California, Washington) with Jon Young and Evan McGown, at VISFI. I was so inspired by the stories and spirit of these women that I felt that there was a message to bring back with me to the mainland.

Here it is:

Here is talk I gave in Huntsville Ontario. This is probably one of the better talks that I have given. Something about the people in the room that day and the need for this particular talk to go well. There is a saying: The greater the need the greater the result.

Take a look and let me know what you think:

Here is a talk that I gave on Thursday at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. 100 people were there and the energy was really great. The Ontario Art of Mentoring Team held the evening really well and even covered for me when my flight was delayed.

One of the keys to healthy culture is the creation of song, poem and story that reflects our values, dreams and visions.

As a cultural creative I have looked to other cultures to get a clue about authentic songs and stories. Songs written from the land, songs with power. Until recently this was a pattern in many places, borrowing songs from other cultures to express the intangible connection to nature that we value so much.

Recently in Vermont and the Art of Mentoring, we put out the high vision that we will become the visionaries and artists again. We will write our own songs, from our direct experience with nature, held by our authentic community.

Three songs were created, by the teen girls, the teen boys and the children.

The song from the girls was about water.

The song from the boys was about fire.

and the song from the children was about the birds and bird language.

The song about fire spread to the west coast, whenever hand made fires were being made. And then to Europe. And recently to Africa. Jon Young went on a special trip to the Kalahari to spend time with the San Bushman and this is the story he told in England this week:

I’m in th UK tonight in a 500 year old Manor Cottage.  Thatched roof, the whole deal.

I arrived with Evan McGown to Heathrow airport.  We’re here for the first UK art of mentoring.

We learned a song, after an official cup of tea, called Raggle Taggle Gypsy O !

The scene of English Gardens, castles, and manicured Manor lawns provided the backdrop to the passion the singers
brought to this song.  Listen in to the lyrics, what is this song expressing ?

After having done some research, art of questioning and curiosity, I found these origin stories and lyrics:

http://www.contemplator.com/child/wraggle.html

an even older version:

http://www.contemplator.com/child/johnnyfa.html

There is a lot ancestry coming together this week, england, ireland, scotland, american, native american, german, sweden, netherlands.  As we track ancestral connection to nature together, we will find a common longing for nature connection, and for our wild selves.

Back in Toronto.

Circle

Square

Last night I gave a three hour talk at the Royal Botanical Garden.

It started with the awareness question of  “Notice all the squares in the room, anything that is a square or rectangle.”  Then another question: ” Notice all the circles in the room”.   Once asked, the shapes came into our awareness.  What else is like that ?

The next awareness: “Notice the shape that we are sitting in”.  Rows in a large square shape, all facing the one presenter.  “Feel what it feels like in your body, right now.  Now, everyone get up and rearrange themselves into one circle”.

Once settled, I asked, “So what does it feel like now ?”  People shared these things:

I feel vulnerable.

I’m participating.

I’m responsible.

This is like community.

I can’t hide.

If rows of chairs (squares) is like content (school) then a circle of chairs is like context.

Front row only education is a shift in the context of learning.  It’s a shift in culture.

Where else can we shift the context to create cultural change ?

Today’s post is an audio clip from my recent Toronto talk, a wicked brief 2 minuter.

It’s a special edit for the folks that I spoke to in Montague, Ma recently.

What if I gave up knowing ?

To create the changes we would like to see in the world, in our community, our family, and in ourselves, we might have to start by giving up knowing what we know.

A little uncomfortable, yes.  But how is it working sticking to what you always thought was real ?

If you liked the 2 min audio clip, let me know.  I can post another audio story about a profound encounter with… “Our friend Possum”.