Pioneer Spring

We chose this place because it is one of the areas of town most damaged by the flood last year. We had a very gentle GEX. The two of us shared about what the area meant to both of us. We both had a positive connection to it, for different reasons, and it was enjoyable to learn and share about it on a deeper level, like getting to know a friend better. Then we wandered around it for a bit. Both of us came back with the feeling that the area was in better shape than we expected, and that things are improving here. We talked about various responses that we had to the wounding and also to the beauty. Interwoven with talking about place, we also shared about our own different lives in some of their wounded and beautiful areas. “The flood was such a disaster, and we thought it would define us forever, but we are moving on and things are getting better,” said Samantha. We then made a bird out of items we found in the place—litter and plants together. We both included our pieces of yarn in the bird creation. If you look closely, you may be able to see one part of the yarn outlining the head, and another part wrapped around a piece of glass at the point where the body meets the tail. We found a small kitchen knife lying on the ground and used it to cut the yarn into a piece for both of us. We then also included the knife as part of our art. During the Global Earth Exchange here at Pioneer Spring, I had the feeling that the area was there with us in heart, both beautiful and wounded as we can also be with each other connecting with caring and compassion as wounded beautiful humans.