A few weeks ago Tim and I went to visit our friends Chris and Cathy’s home and school at Wild Gardens. You can take a digital visit through their SoulArtSystem website. It’s a place where they nurture family, friends, plants, animals and earth. Magical green things seemed to sprawl in every direction. I couldn’t take it in fast enough – in fact my mind was moving too fast that day – with jittery agitation and busyness. I could feel a sense of avaricious, grabby energy around “taking in” something new.
Cathy offered us a breath centered yoga class in the sunlit studio overlooking a verdant tree-scape and unruly garden plots. I found myself trusting her guidance and then coming home to the place underlies surface turbulence. She suggested we simply say yes to our experience – even if it was yes to saying no – which made me smile. I started feeling my body’s yes to the areas of spine and pelvis Cathy traveled with words. Relaxing, breathing, trusting.
When we emerged from the studio, I could savor my friends, the sights, sounds and smells more slowly. Cathy gave us a tour of the land, art and living spaces. She generously invited us into her family’s special way of living. Together they grow grasses, herbs, trees, vegetables, raise farm animals, craft foods, drinks, willow reed baskets, build, paint and mosaic. Expressions of their creativity surrounded us.