Today Tenneson and I arrived at Hope Springs Retreat Center. We are here because tomorrow we start the second retreat for our second Fire & Water Leadership & Rite of Passage cohort. We will be here from Wednesday until Sunday.
I am so excited to be arriving here today, a day before the others arrive. It has allowed Tenneson and I to ease into the space, to be deliberate about the choices we are making in preparation without rush. This program is rooted in understanding the importance of slowing down. It is a 16 month journey complete with three five day retreats, also a deliberate choice.
This Fire & Water experience is anchored in the hero’s/heroine’s journey. The first retreat is centered on connection and the departure, the second retreat focuses on the medicine needed for the ordeal and the third retreat is about the return.
And all of this is held by two elders, Tenneson and I, a community that has gone before (what we call our original group or our OGs) and a cohort of their peers.
I am learning that this is real community. I am learning that we are the medicine. They, our Fire & Water participants, are teaching us how to be the giants that we already are.
Quanita