Dear friends,
Even in the midst of so much disruption, we are marking the turn of seasons by celebrating a late summer harvest—of learning, reflection, and art! We are thrilled to share the ABC’s of Course Correction, a zine of provocations from Summer 2020.
This summer has formed us in undeniable ways. As we learn each day how to live in a world shaped by pandemic, by fires, by powerful movements coming together in the streets and mobilizing to protect our democracy, we explored the regenerative future of our dreams through Movement Generation’s four-part #CourseCorrection, alongside over 100 folks from our network and thousands more around the country. We called on our own wisdom traditions, our elders, and those on the frontlines of today’s movements to help us find the way.
All of these things shape our learning, some windows into which we now offer as a gift to you.
We’re grateful for the leadership of our Network Weaving and Community Learning team, Katie Gordon and Sarah Bradley, who supported our network throughout the Movement Generation course and instigated this collective reflection project. You can read more about their reflections on the experience here.
Our choice to share our learnings through our own creative expression is intentional: we wanted something that looked like it belonged on your nightstand, something that sparked connection with the faces of the people who made it (hi!), something you could look at and say, “I could do that too!”
The process matters. Part of our creative reflection was spending an afternoon together as a team, listening to some great tunes and pouring love and thought into each of these pages. The act of making it was a communal, embodied, and healing way to honor this chapter of learning.
This is a lesson we have learned over and over from sisters about the process of formation: The result of formation is not the mere profession of vowed life; rather, it is an ongoing journey toward wholeness. The container, and the good company, give us the courage to create something new.
And the world needs new! Now is not the time for preciousness and perfection. It is a time to create together, imperfectly and steadily, with a chorus of voices that grows strong enough to out-sing the sirens of more comfortable paths.
We need art for this next leg, and we need each other. Let's sketch, build, sing, protest and pray together toward the world that we long for.
Love,
The NN team