Movements of Joy 💫

Martha Snow '20 dancing in the meditation and movement studio built by the 2019-2020 cohort

Dear Comrades,

Here we are with a new moon and what feels like new beginnings as we enter early autumn in New England. While autumn is harvest time it is also that moment we all remember being a new student. It is often a mixed moment of anticipation laced with glee and anxiety--what will we encounter and who will we be this year? The Sufi poet and mystic Shams Tabrizi said:

This world is like a mountain.
Your echo depends on you....
Change your heart to change the world.

At Place Corps we have been contemplating our response to the fear, anger, and hate that is devilishly loud in our society right now. We are tasked with determining what will fill the space in our hearts that sorrow is clearing the way for. As Tabrizi says, our echo depends on us. What we shout will return to us. For this reason we believe it is our responsibility to be activated by the energy of rage to cultivate compassion and build Movements of Joy to do good work.

We will shout love!

Whatever we encounter this year, we will approach it as students of Love. We will work to know, love, and serve that which gives us joy--individually and collectively. We will praise the beauty that exists; that we find in our hearts, in the eyes of others, in the scent of fresh earth and fallen leaves, and in the flight of the monarchs. As we learned that the word serve originally meant to shepherd and protect that which we love--we will serve the needs of one another and the Earth. We trust Movements of Joy to guide us towards the future we are co-creating.

We welcome you to join us in #MovementsofJoy--a daily practice for students of Love.

“ Love is the clinamen of the creature.
Why we tilt when we fall.”
-- Harry Dodge