Ceremony and Blessing for a New Evolution

You might think I am writing this from a hilltop view in a far off land.  Not so and not yet.  I am on a staycation in Scottsdale decompressing, staying cool, and relaxing with my husband and my dog, Tuli.  Room service all the way!  We took this little trip so that we could start unwinding together and get on a slower rhythm with each other.  

We closed on May 31, 2021 after I taught my final class.  Judy, Heidi and the DS staff created a beautiful ceremony for me and the group to celebrate the memories, connections and the love we share.   

The ceremony was Desert Song style in honor of the years we shared.  Candles, an engaging circle, smudging to release the old and welcome the new, chanting and relaxing into the beautiful company of our peers.   

Judy had made beautiful scarves we had tied together to link throughout the circle that represented our deep connections.  

Mary read a poem that she had written for me on DS’s 25th Anniversary.   It meant so much to me then and still does today. See below:    

While the Village Lies Sleeping

(1-25-08 for Mary Beth in honor of Desert Song’s 25th anniversary)

How can a heart so young birth 

a vision that decades later becomes 

a community?  It arises from years of 

solitary work in the hours when most 

of the village lies sleeping.  It comes 

from tenacity often expressed as a fierce  

edge, and relentless faith in the dream 

still evolving. Most of all, it grows  

from love and the offering of a whole 

life in service of the precious unfoldment.

 —Mary Glover

We each had time to share in the circle.  It was a joy and pleasure to reminisce about some the memories over the past 38 years.  We all grew up spiritually together for the most part over all these years.

Heidi chose a poem to read by John O’Donahue about retirement.  It was one of the poems that helped me make the decision to restructure my life and I was elated she chose that poem. It confirmed I was on the right path.

BLESSING FOR RETIREMENT

John O’Donohue

This is where your life has arrived,
After all the years of effort and toil; Look back with graciousness and thanks On all your great and quiet achievements

You stand on the shore of new invitation
To open your life to what is left undone;
Let your heart enjoy a different rhythm When drawn to the wonder of other horizons.

Have the courage for a new approach to time; Allow it to slow until you find freedom
To draw alongside the mystery you hold
And befriend your own beauty of soul.

Now is the time to enjoy your heart’s desire, To live the dreams you’ve waited for,
To awaken the depths beyond your work And enter into your infinite source. 

Heidi burned some sweet grass for new beginnings and blessings recognizing that our connections would last our lifetime.   

We closed the circle with a ritual where consecutively person by person untied their scarf that was linked  to the one to the right of them to acknowledged the impact we each have shared together as a community.  

This closing of the business Corporation of Desert Song will change things for sure but will never take away the bonds we have with one another and the evolution that this community will unfold into.   

In about a week I will going up to Spruce Mountain where I rented a cabin that is off the grid to take a silent retreat to savor, empty, open and restore myself.  It will be a new beginning for me to open to what is next.    

I hold each person in Desert Song in my heart and pray that you stay with your practices and your self care.   

Namaste, 

Mary Beth