Thanks for the news, Nate. Hope to see you on the river in June…..

Pride Wright

But nowadays the potency of fresh starts can be easy to overlook. These climate controlled lives are more cushioned from weather, food, and other concerns, making it that much easier for vital ties with the earth to slip away. The mystery, growth and change this world hinges upon have come to be vaguely familiar props we navigate around. That’s where the magic lies, in the too common wonders we walk by

I know zingy, jam packed schedules are quickly becoming the norm, but even the busiest of busykins is still likely to take notice as the world rises out from the depths of winter to taste a bit of spring newness. And these seasonal shifts aren’t meant to stop at the door; nature reaching out all over is our cue to do the same. Let sprout those grand plans thought up through cold, dark nights. Spontaneous, unencumbered actions are what this time calls for. Spring is that magic pixie dust dishing up the inner mettle for us to be free if we try. It’s somehow easier to slip past previously trounced feelings, a jolted ego or shunned ideas. And it needn’t be only a seasonal thing, far off at the wrong times. Each morning is another chance to reaffirm what we’re about. That’s what spring is, it’s affirmations. I never cease to be amazed at the amount of delight that can be had w/ a few extra minutes to suck in the morning air and eavesdrop on life waking up. This time to stretch and coat my innards w/ a hot gourd of tea provides an extra dab of immunity and agility for anything the day may deliver.

Look forward to seeing you down the river.

Trathen Heckman    

(Trathen Heckman is an eco poet, author, snowboarder, and permaculture expert, as well as the executive director for both Daily Acts and Green Sangha. Join him for “Personal Ecology and Principles of Permaculture”, a floating exercise in intentional community on the Colorado River in spectacular Cataract Canyon. Takes place June 14-21, 2009. For details, visit us online at www.wild-outdoors.org.)

Greetings, river rats.

This afternoon I was on my bike, crankin’ up a long hill alongside a creek not far from my home, soaking up the flaming reds and yellows of the dogwoods and oaks, the waning afternoon light, the chilly and increasingly dense air here in the Sierra foothills. I love the way nature powers down with flamboyance and style. This gradual season-long diminishing of energy is not only a joy to behold, it’s a powerful metaphor.

Hard to believe five months have passed since 18 of us spent a week together on the Colorado River in Utah’s spectacular Cataract Canyon. It was a powerful experience and it has faded only slightly. What a wonderful gift to have had this opportunity to set aside our electronic faux connectedness for a week and rediscover not only a sense of awe and wonder, but what it means to truly live in community.

Although we’ve left our now beloved Colorado River behind for a time, what remains with us is an opportunity to awaken to the beauty and richness that lies all around us—most of it free, the rest of it cheap, all of it slow. The art of friendship, a dunk in the river, the hole-in-the-wall, lunchtime barbecues, first tracks, independent art and artists of all kinds, full moon kayak expeditions, a mindfulness practice, and long meals with family and friends, to name a few. I know of no one who feels they are doing enough of these, and yet these things are inevitably the first casualties when it comes time to choose amongst all of those overblown obligations to commerce and society.

Speaking of long meals with family and friends, it was absolutely great to see a good number of the Northern California members of our floating tribe gather around a local/seasonal/organic meal at the home of WILD permaculture instructor Trathen Heckman (founder of the organization Daily Acts). Fellow instructors Nathaniel Corum (Architecture for Humanity) and Megan Slankard (Bay Area singer/songwriter) were there. We were also joined by Austin singer/songwriter Patrice Pike, who will lend her considerable talents (musical and otherwise) to a WILD trip next June. After a wonderful meal, Megan and Patrice broke out their guitars. Beauty happens! A couple of nights later we reprised the evening here in the Sierra foothills with some of Northern California’s most dedicated and effective environmental activists. These two gatherings were about as close to our time around the campfire in Cataract Canyon as I am likely to come. Until next summer.    

It has become clear to me these past five months that there are few things as important as making time to be with each other in community. The world has a way of subtly isolating us and pushing us apart, and the antidote is to diligently cultivate a posture of openness, trust, receptivity, and compassion. Look past superficial differences and focus on our shared humanity. The aforementioned faux electronic “connectedness” is no substitute for gathering to share meals, ideas, laughter, songs, poems, hopes, vulnerabilities. 

These are lessons from the river that are lingering with me this week.

Many blessings to you beautiful people! 

Pride Wright

Member WILD Board of Directors  

Since this essay is supposed to be what I learned from my trip, I won’t bore you with details from the river, besides the fact that the canyon lands are really one of the most beautiful places on earth, and the wonder and awe in which I viewed them have seemed to open up a new place in my life. Before the trip I always view the outdoors with respect, but I was never that close to them, and had really stopped spending long chunks of my time camping or going on trips, besides the occasional day hike or float trip. I think I had really lost interest when I had almost contracted hypothermia camping in the winter up near Boulder a couple of years earlier. But the wild trip has become sort of a reawakening for me. After the trip I spent almost every day of the summer hiking around Colorado and it turned into probably the best summer of my life. I also have recently gotten into mountain biking, and plan to snowshoe and ski a bunch this winter. Looking back on my experience I cannot thank the people who made this trip fun and possible enough. I met some pretty awesome people on the river and I hope to continue exploring with them in the future, wherever their paths in life may take them. I also cannot stress enough how thankful I am for this trip rekindling my love affair with nature. Now I just have to hike every single fourteener in Colorado.