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Building Resiliency,

Finding Flow,

Striving for Wholeness.

As Place Corps is drawing to a close, I am thinking about roots. In this season, we are watching small seedling put down their first tender root for the season, and I am reflecting on the frameworks, lenses, and gifts it has provided for looking at our lives.

I am thinking about my own root. What is the foundation from where I move, the core impulse that governs me, is at the root of everything that I do?

For me, my root is BALANCE and WHOLENESS.

When I reflect back on what drew me to Place Corps, I am finding joy in drawing the threads between the interweaving and cross-pollinating elements of the program, all striving towards one whole. Threads like:

The power of meeting the land and understanding our ancestors is that these processes connect us within space and time.

LAND.

The power of sourcing food locally and creating relationships for food production, preparation, and consumption that support local regional economies in becoming more self-sustaining.

FOOD.

The power of expressing ourselves through art is that we tap more fully into the creative impulse that we all have, and therefore, become more whole.

ART.

The power of constructing a building is that the disparate parts, walls, ceiling, floorboards - come together, and become whole.

BUILDING.

The power of asking the big questions about our place, in an effort to better understand our homes.

PLACE.

The power of building a group process that is co-created, and adaptable, and flexible, in order to give voice and meet the needs of everyone, of the whole.

GROUP PROCESS.

The power of a design processes (permaculture, regenerative design, others) that intentionally has rhythm to align values, goals, methods, actions, and reflections: WHOLE.

DESIGN PROCESS.

The power of looking at our systems and organizations to undo built in injustice and create structures that allow for more wholeness.

ORGANIZATIONS & SYSTEMS.

Reflecting on all of these ways that we can be whole, I now feel a sense of freedom - that what manifests is coming from this core desire to build harmony for myself and for others. I will move forward in path with this intention.

And finally…integrated intention, that looks like this:

Thank you to the all Place Corps educators, contributors, and supporters for investing your time, care, thought, and energy in this rare, important experiment.