Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I notice, as we move in to the early fall, how accelerated my pace feels -- how many new beginnings I'm encountering; and how many things I, somewhat breathlessly, want to share. The experiences of the summer, so vivid and not so long past, begin to slide to the background. For instance, just last month, on a trip through NY State, I had the incredible privilege to stand watching, (safely behind a window,) within just a few feet of a young female black bear. She. Was. Awesome.
Her instincts and acute sense of smell brought her to investigate the trash bag that had mistakenly been put in a can meant for recycling. My family and I witnessed as she stood on hind legs, toppled the container, almost delicately removed the bag, and brought it slightly deeper into the woods, (on to an irritated neighbor's land -- but that's another story...). Some part of me knew that a more correct response might have been to scare her away, but too awed by the opportunity to exist side-by-side with this gorgeous creature, I continued to watch until she left the woods. On some level, I felt exquisitely, achingly called in to my own wildness.
Returning home, during my Friday morning Authentic Movement group, I began to make a connection that I hadn't before, that "wildness" is not chaos. "Wildness" is not random. When attending our feral nature -- following our noses and instincts -- we creatures live a remarkably orderly existence. We attend our needs, (when we are blessed to be able,) for nourishment, shelter and connection. We live. We love; and inevitably... we grieve.
Beginning later this month, I am honored once again to co-facilitate an embodied training series with my talented colleague, Joya DCruz. The five-week (bi-monthly) Embracing Loss group series will help participants to develop skills to tend a variety of kinds of grief and loss; to receive the support you need, and to safely attend these natural experiences of your wild, human bodies. Please, scroll down for more information, and feel free to reach out with any questions.
For those who prefer the support of private sessions -- either in person in Ann Arbor or Detroit, or virtually, from wherever your body currently resides, please contact me at: stefaniemovingstories@gmail.com.
With bright fall wishes to you all,
Stefanie
