Story Info
Story Info
Marla Ferguson-Leak
Our Orchard in Palisade, Colorado
2022
Type of Wounded Place
Story & Experience
The wounded place that I chose for my ceremony was the whole world. There are SO many things happening in the world today that are negative and hurtful on SO many levels that it is overwhelming. I want to dig a hole in the sand and hide. In fact I wasn’t sure I even wanted to do this ceremony but decided that making beauty was a way that I could contribute in a positive way.
The wounded place that I chose for my ceremony was the whole world. There are SO many things happening in the world today that are negative and hurtful on SO many levels that it is overwhelming. I want to dig a hole in the sand and hide. In fact I wasn’t sure I even wanted to do this ceremony but decided that making beauty was a way that I could contribute in a positive way.
Why this Place?
Our Orchard in Palisade, Colorado
I chose this location because it embodied all of the world losses that I wanted to acknowledge.
Act of Beauty
Say more about your actions and activity
I chose a place in our orchard where we had cut down one of our trees due to disease. This is a normal part of taking care of an orchard although I am always sad when a tree dies. I made my RadJoy bird out of the dead branches and leaves in front of the tree stump. It honored the life of the trees and all of the trees around it. The black irrigation hose that goes through reminded me of the life-giving water needed for our trees to grow and how precious that water is. Especially with climate change here in the western United States. The cut tree stump also reminded me of how many rights, people, lives are being cut down in our country. As I was thinking of what to do for my ceremony, the Serenity Prayer came to mind. How many upsetting things that are happening in the world and how little control I have over them. So, I was thankful today for the opportunity to provide at least a tiny bit of beauty through the RadJoy practice and hope that my small act of beauty does indeed have a positive ripple effect in the world.
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