I hope your Exchange went as well as ours did! We had the loveliest weather we’ve had so far this season, with lots of kids, as you saw. The kids had a long conversation, using Talking Stick, about the River, and how it’s been manhandled and disrespected, and how we should be treating it like it was one of us. Then, those of us who wanted to sit with the River and listened. The River seemed to change from dullness to brilliance in that time!

When we came together again, after sharing, other participants had begun to gather materials for our bird sculpture/drawing. It was much bigger than I expected and there was much negotiating, since there were so many artists. It dawned on the adults in the group, independently, that this process, of creating beauty together and making space for all of our ideas, showing flexibility while remaining invested in the outcome is exactly the process that our Earth needs to regain balance and well-being.

While we were building the bird, a biker rode by and stopped (to avoid running over one of our children) and when we told her what we were doing, she asked to participate! It was magical to have her there, and she turned out to be another Reiki person, so it was perfect to have her for the next part of the exchange.

We poured water in a cup for each person to hold, and we charged it with love, healing, and, for those who have Reiki, with Reiki. Then we went to the River’s edge and poured it into the water, blessing it and intending it to spread the positive energy throughout the River. Finally, Sebastian, my son, played his trumpet for the River.

We didn’t talk about any physical changes in the water, but we seemed to share an intimacy with the River because of the exchange. It’s not something that we can necessarily name, but it was meaningful to all the participants, including the Chicago River!

Thank you for planting the seeds of this!