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The House of Possibilities
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“Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart.”
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“One thing I’ve learned in the woods is that there is no such thing as random. Everything is steeped in meaning, colored by relationships, one thing with another.”
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Happy Fall!
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We hope this letter finds you well and that your spirit is nurtured by the beauty of change and renewal that is on full and brilliant display all around us. Walking through the world noticing the various seasonal shifts in our more than human kin is stepping into a simultaneous celebration of abundance, life, change, and shedding. Over the course of our lives, both of us have been held by the deep care, wisdom, connection, and support offered by our water, tree, and plant teachers. Therefore, we have been focused on cultivating various practices to grow deeper in relationship with the land we call home. For us, this includes the place we are in daily relationship with and the places that our bodies have always known as home.
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One of the specific practices we have committed to over the course of the past year is creating time and space every 2-3 months to be present with some of the most important teachers throughout our lives: The Big Water (Gichigami, Lake Superior), the birch and white pines, and the ancient stones. Their collective wisdom and power of renewal calls our spirits to visit them across all seasons. On each trip, we intentionally slow down and sit in quiet to listen - to pay attention, to receive, to integrate new knowledge, and to ready ourselves for the next phase of this constant becoming. We are so grateful for these generous teachers and have been humbled to develop a practice of listening - with our whole bodies and all of our senses - as an act of love and reciprocity.
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Our most recent visit was September 27 and 28. We want to offer you a few images from our time, along with questions that arose in our listening and reflection. We hope that you find these offerings helpful for your own practice and reflection.
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What do the falling and fallen leaves invite you to shed?
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What lessons can you learn from trees about what practices are needed seasonally to intentionally nourish your ever becoming being?
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What areas of your life and relationships hold toxicity?
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What lessons can you learn from the fungi about the power of healing and transmutation?
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What wisdom does the water hold for you and your capacity to adapt, to flow, to move in rhythm with the universe, to heal?
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Updates and Highlights from the past month:
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- We are grateful for our new and growing partnerships with TCALT and Commons Land. Over the course of this fall and into the upcoming year, we are looking forward to learning, outlining our work together, and developing robust collaborative fundraising plans to acquire the land for The People’s Garden and the longer term work of growing the commons.
- The weekend of September 12-13, we were guests at Moonstone Minneapolis for an art market. Moonstone continues to be an incredible supporter and community partner for The People’s Garden and generously offered to donate 20% of their sales that weekend. With their gift, we added $854 toward the land fund! Our current total is $14,302!
- Minneapolis is a place rich with growers, teachers and stewards who, with a wide range of pathways, identities, and years of experience, hold shared longings of food sovereignty and security, community wellness, and care for the Earth. This month, we had the opportunity to connect with farmers, Carrie and Jade at The Black Radish through volunteering with an incredible organization called Farm Buds that works to connect people to land and community. We deeply appreciate the work of this amazing duo and their vision of contributing to “a world that values the health of the earth and the wellbeing of each person.”
- We are so grateful to have ended the month by joining in celebrating our abundant community at The Harvest Moon Festival hosted by East Phillips Neighborhood Institute. The day was “a celebration of community solutions, uplifting solidarity initiatives in East Phillips and across Minneapolis. From growing healthy food for our neighbors to civic engagement, there is much to appreciate in our city.” Despite the rain, there were over 30 community organizations, delicious free food for all, beautiful performances, and hundreds of community members joyfully gathering together. Thank you for the work you do to nourish our community, EPNI!
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As we transition into fall, we are focused on growing our new partnerships, continuing to hold opportunities for community building through art-making and dialogue, and hosting a year long learning community. For our art-making events, we will be holding space centered in joy, connection, and creation while dreaming with our neighbors about the futures we are most longing for! Come and join us!
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- September 30, 6-8 pm: Create and Connect at Dreamstate Cafe (Come enjoy an evening outside collaging or making your own book while talking with neighbors about the changes we long to see in our community.)
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October 5, 6-8 pm: Becoming in a Time of Collapse at Odigo Wellness (Along with a cohort from our community, we are beginning a year-long study committed to dreaming, dialoguing, and designing practices for the purpose of becoming the people we need to be to build another world.)
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October 11, 11 am-5 pm: Hennepin Ave Open Streets (Check out our IG page closer to the date to learn where to find us during this community celebration where Hennepin Ave will be closed to vehicle traffic and folx are invited to walk and bike, connect with neighbors and local organizations/businesses, and imagine futures for our communities rooted in care for the planet and each other.)
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October 13-15: Midwest Community Land Trust Conference in Detroit (We are so excited for the opportunity to grow our knowledge around the legal, financial, and structural components of land trusts - we’re grateful for the support from Commons Land to make this possible!!)
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October 25, 6:30-8:30 pm: Bonfire with The People’s Garden stewards
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We know that we can not do this work alone. Our two biggest needs for support at this time are fundraising and thought partnership. If you are excited about the vision for The People’s Garden and the additional focal areas of The House of Possibilities (art programming, intergenerational study and dialogue, and youth leadership development), please consider supporting us in the following ways:
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- Become a monthly sustaining donor! Until we have raised the funds to purchase the land for The People’s Garden, all monthly donations will contribute to that goal. As soon as the land is acquired, monthly sustaining donations will become the foundation of financial sustainability that enables us at The House of Possibilities to provide programming that aligns with the dreams, needs, and visions of our neighborhood, where we are all safe, fed, and free.
- Reach out to 5 people who you believe would be excited about this vision for our future and ask them to contribute to The People’s Garden. Every single donation matters, regardless of size!
- Do you have experience in fundraising and development? Please reach out to us - we’d love to hear your ideas and learn from you!
- Do you have experience in small business (social entrepreneurship) or small non-profit leadership? Please reach out to us - we’d love to learn from you and get support thinking through different structures and planning for sustainability.
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Donate today to The People’s Garden by scanning the QRC!
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Please consider becoming a monthly sustaining donor to help us build a future where we are all thriving!
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