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First Moon Ceremony

12/1/2021

"I'm so grateful for the support you've given my daughter and the ways you've modeled for her ways of being. Thank you for the way you walk in the world!" - Rites of Passage Mama

It was an honor to support a recent First Moon Ceremony for one of our blossoming teens. We gathered by the waters (of course!) to witness her journey. Three generations of women, and a diverse circle of female-identified humans circled round for a powerful welcome to this stunning teen into the world of womanhood.

What a privilege to be asked to hold space in this way. The teen herself asked for this! What a gift, to feel the village circle up to create a culturally responsive and relevant ceremony. From little sisters to wise crones, these are the moments that mark our lives. These are the forever memories that shape us, the ones we can feel right as they are happening... we are all changed by these moments.

With holy reverence to the female body and the ancient circles rippling around us all ~ We are blessed! May all young women have this opportunity. May all mothers be held in their ever transforming task of holding. May all female bodies be respected and kept safe.

May we all be guided towards supporting teens and their families in receiving the helping hands they need along the way.

Solidarity With Black Lives Matter, Solstice & Vision For Our Future

6/20/2020

Solstice Blessings Dear Ones,

Words are not seeming enough these days given how broken open we're feeling, by both the beauty and pain of life. Words clearly aren't enough when it comes to deconstructing systemic oppression and violence - the perpetuation of deep seated racism, unfolding pandemic, and continued exploitation of our precious earth. Now we find ourselves both masked and unmasked, shouting ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

We are grateful to the leadership of the Black community calling us in to reflect, learn, and take action in these times. As educators, it is our responsibility and opportunity to engage youth in this dialogue, and how we can use our power to create a more just world. Whether we like it or not, whether we understand our complicity or not, our history lives in us. How do we meet this moment with love and courage? It takes each of us calling ourselves in, and it takes community.

We must commit again and again to not just disapprove of, but actively dismantle systems of power and privilege that oppress and destroy lives - especially black lives - and dominate our living earth. We are planting the seeds of a new story in and with the young people. A story of restoration, love in action, unity in diversity, honoring all life - a story worth living into. We each have a part to play and a responsibility to the whole. Our identities, experiences and cultures will shape the way that each of us fights for equity and inclusion. As Maya Angelou so graciously states: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

We teach our girls to know their own hearts, find their voices, and use it for good - to not shy away from uncomfortable conversations. As we reflect on our work with girls, young women, and their families, here are some ways we commit to using our power and voices to create spaces that are explicitly anti-racist and truly include families of color, particularly Black families:

We know that addressing discrimination requires ongoing attention and care to make sure we get things right. We commit to fight harder to support our girls of color, especially black girls, and to better understand what they need.
3 free spaces for our "Summer Online Series" to self-identified girls of color.
5 reduced fee spaces for our school-year-long program to self-identified girls of color.
We are donating a % of our annual income ongoing to the BLM movement.
Additionally every group will have a fund, and choose what anti-racist cause to donate it to at the end of the year.

This past week marked the celebration of Juneteenth, honoring the end of slavery in the US in 1865, and Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year in this hemisphere, honoring light. It is a good time to celebrate what is good, say no to what is intolerable, and hold the light of our co-liberation as central. We are humbly playing our part - listening, taking responsibility, taking action, and trusting something even more beautiful is being born amidst the chaos. We hope you’ll be with us.

In solidarity and love,
Emily & Quetzal

P.S. We did it! We finished the 2020 school year! 6 groups, over 80 meetings, 100 families... and US! (and way too much Zoom!) Thank you so much for your faith in our work and good hearts. We love you!

(Above, artist unknown - Below, us at the end of the last group of the year!)

On Early Spring & Belonging

2/26/2020

The plum blossoms and magnolia blooms are stunning this year! I find myself between worlds, seduced by their innocent beauty, and the quiet promise of another fire season ahead. I dwell between these worlds often, grieving for present and future time. I was like this before becoming a mom, but it's certainly amplified now that the "next generation" is in my arms.

My son Shaye's eyes are healed (after a 9 month illness and surgery in November), and shortly after a baby I was expecting in July became an angel. Life really is just, all the things. The ol' "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" idea has really been working for me ;-)

It seems, between the brokenness and the mending, is our life...

Happy Holy Days

12/21/2019

We are loving this gorgeous essay on the nature of the Winter Solstice, and return of holidays to "holy days". Thank you Michael Meade for your inspirational thinking }

Dear Friends,

The modern world, made bright and shiny with inter-connective technology, can also seem a dark, isolating place. The growing climate crisis, increasing wealth disparity, as well as the politics of conflict and corruption cast huge shadows over the land. These are not simply the dark days of winter, but increasingly dark times for everyone; especially for those who truly care for the souls of others and for the well-being of the sacred earth we all live upon.

The disasters of modern life are deepened by the loss of imagination about the mystery and wonder of this world and the lack of understanding of our essential place within it. We keep falling out of the living story of the world and into the shadow of humanity. Humans may be frail and easily misled, yet we belong to more than one dimension of life and the dark of the year is the traditional time to recall the inner connection between our souls and the starry universe.

Young Woman's Essay Reflections on Girls Group

12/1/2019

So grateful for one of our long time girls sharing a piece of one of her college essays - about her years in girls group! What a gift, on so many levels.

"I have been a part of a teen girls’ discussion group for almost three years. The girls who make up the group change every year, but the feeling of sisterhood never does. Each year we start out as strangers, but we skip the small talk and get to know each other’s opinions, values, aspirations, and life experiences right away. It feels like a powerful remedy to our modern world of superficial social media-based interactions.

The first year I started attending I hardly talked, instead preferring to listen to the other girls’ stories and let the lessons they've learned wash over me until I learned them, too. Sometimes, though, I felt compelled to share my own stories. Each time I shared, I'd been bottling up my thoughts long enough that I knew how to articulate them when I started speaking. This taught me the art of listening deeply, and how it can create better empathy and connection. I also learned from others in the group that when I articulated my own stories in a vulnerable way, it encouraged the others to be vulnerable, too. Before that, I didn't know that I could empower others to be their true selves just by being authentic myself...

On Vulnerability & Birthday Wishes

9/27/2019

Birthdays are weird. They hold the most vulnerable, hidden, hardest parts and the most lovable, shining ones. Birthdays make a mess of nostalgia, secret disappointments, big wishes, and raw mortality. Something about hoping for more than ordinariness feels like a set up. You dream beautiful dreams and then you get rained out or your kid gets sick... sometimes, life is just like that. Then a beloved surprises you with flowers, or a long distance visit. Life is like that too. Or maybe it's that my birthday is sister to Autumn, the often emotional turning towards the dark, swampy, rich harvests and shedding skins. Or maybe it's that my birthday is my grandmother's, so no birthday is ever celebrated without loss.

This past year has been one of the sweetest, and one of the hardest of my life. I have blossomed into myself as a mama, partner, guide, and friend. I have learned more about how deeply I grieve, and in turn touched a deeper love. I have held great faith, protected my optimism, and opened the door again and again to hope. I have felt scared and alone, in this time of the "broken village". I work really f*ing hard, on a lot of levels. I am SO grateful for my life.

It's been a hard year, and a wonderful year. I haven't checked in about my son for a while, well, because it's really vulnerable. Last January he got sick, then we got food poisoning, then in February he developed a cross eye. (Potentially all related or unrelated) By April it transformed into an extremely rare eye condition called Cyclic Esotropia. Short story is his left eye switches from being totally normal, to crossed, every 24 hours. So every other day he's totally fine. And every other day, he's got a cross eye.

The process has been filled with love, struggle, and mystery...

When Is It Ever Enough?

9/9/2019

This Summer, I had the honor of attending a retreat for mothers from around the country, as part of a year-long commitment to a Motherworthy group I meet with weekly, online. This was my first trip away from my son Shaye, and my first time to North Carolina. I absolutely loved it! The weekend was relaxed and meaningful, and Shaye did great at home with Dada and Gramma Ummie. I led a simple rite of passage ritual for the group that was as powerful as I'd hoped.

Though I adored tender and silly moments with these incredible women, and swimming naked in a cold river on a true Summer day, my favorite part of the whole adventure was the soundscape of the Appalachian mountains at night. Something about the wet heat, the stars, the woods and creek, and the overpowering symphony of nocturnal singers - it was like retreating to a safe rainforest. I remembered my first conversation with my now husband, when he told me his greatest passion was "listening" (swoon!) and about his interest in finding places in this world where one could listen to an uninterrupted soundscape. It was sweet to remember our "beginning", worlds away.

Departing and still upon return, I find myself in close quarters with grief. Grief about how over-full life is. Grief about finally committing to weaning, of that rushed airport morning being his last "num num" for the rest of his life. Grief about everyone I love aging, and time passing. Grief about how much precious time has been lost to fear, worry, managing. Grief about violence on all levels and the state of the world. I wished to leave all that grief behind, then in classic "Emily" style found myself holding space for others to grieve. Though I left those mountains feeling so, so blessed, I still left with grief close by, like an overly friendly shadow always by my side.

I am lucky enough to...

On Shame, by Quetzal

8/6/2019

Art by Jaiva Sicke

Shame has been on my mind quite a bit lately, in particular ways that shame gets used as a tool to keep us disconnected from ourselves and each other.

I’m lucky to lead and share spaces exploring this theme with girls and women of all ages. While decades separate many of us, I can’t unsee the parallels and similarities in the stories where shame governs us. The details and names in our stories may be different, but the core feelings are the same - isolation, pain, and secrecy.

Brene Brown defines shame as “the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging”. Unlike guilt, shame doesn’t attach to...

Why is Generation Z So Anxious?

7/29/2019

I'm proud of my husband Jed for being on the front lines as a teen and family therapist. His workplace just published this article about Gen Z, highlighting another great piece about stress, so I'm sharing both articles with you!

Today’s teenagers and young adults are increasingly reporting feeling anxious, stressed or depressed. Supposedly 91%! But why?

At first glance, it may seem like today’s young people have it pretty good... everything available instantly at the touch of a button. But is this high-tech world causing more stress than it’s curing? Take a look at some of the reasons that teens are so anxious.

LINKED ARTICLES:
Why Is Generation Z So Stressed Out, Paradigm Malibu
Why 90% of Generation Z Says They're Stressed Out, Psychology Today

Talking to Teens About Vaping

7/25/2019

Vaping is generally understood to be less risky than smoking. But not vaping is healthier than vaping - even for a generation of teens whose cigarette use is at a 40-year low. So how do we have successful conversations with teenagers about the hazards of e-cigarettes? Here’s a guide to how you might address vaping — or almost any other form of risky business — with the teenagers in your life..."
Keep reading to see our QUICK GUIDE or view full article here.

<<Previous

We must learn from those who came before us, and share our stories with those who come after.

First Moon Ceremony

Solidarity With Black Lives Matter, Solstice & Vision For Our Future

On Early Spring & Belonging

Happy Holy Days

We are loving this gorgeous essay on the nature of the Winter Solstice, and return of holidays to "holy days". Thank you Michael Meade for your inspirational thinking }

Young Woman's Essay Reflections on Girls Group

So grateful for one of our long time girls sharing a piece of one of her college essays - about her years in girls group! What a gift, on so many levels.

On Vulnerability & Birthday Wishes

When Is It Ever Enough?

On Shame, by Quetzal

Why is Generation Z So Anxious?

Talking to Teens About Vaping

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CONNECT@loveyournature.com
510-519-9677
All CONTENT copyright Love Your Nature LLC 2023

We must learn from those who came before us, and share our stories with those who come after.

We are loving this gorgeous essay on the nature of the Winter Solstice, and return of holidays to "holy days". Thank you Michael Meade for your inspirational thinking }

So grateful for one of our long time girls sharing a piece of one of her college essays - about her years in girls group! What a gift, on so many levels.

Author

Archives

Categories

CONNECT@loveyournature.com510-519-9677All CONTENT copyright Love Your Nature LLC 2023

CONNECT@loveyournature.com
510-519-9677
All CONTENT copyright Love Your Nature LLC 2023