A warm welcome to newcomers and hearty greetings to old friends! This is one of the first Substack posts I’m sending to my mailing list. My motive for migrating here is to facilitate a wider exchange of shared experiences, stories and advice between the rest of us. I wish we could gather in person, somewhere, even at my home in the woods of Hope Valley, Rhode Island. Here’s a picture of the work done so far to spruce up my outdoor Wisdom Wheel installation. Come and visit! Or I’ll come to you, as this pandemic draws to a close, hopefully.
After a year and a half of quarantines, grief and restrictions, I want to come back out and play! And I want my friends to meet each other. That’s why I’m launching this column. It creates a virtual place for us where these exchanges can occur. “Build it and they will come.” I sure hope so!
The Wheel has proven to be the most effective method I know - for creating community during these last two decades - so let’s give this virtual version a try! After doing the Wheel in person and via emails, we’ll soon see if the magic can happen via our screens at a distance, inside this space.
Subscribers are also invited to tune in to our ‘live’ twice monthly Zoom meetings. Held regularly, on the second and fourth Wednesdays, at 7 pm EST. These began in January of 2021, after launching our ‘Return to Wisdom’ 2021 Agenda Book. Contact me for Zoom meeting information.
My old newsletter was not interactive enough, because the communication was only two ways, and not with everyone else. For that to happen, we need a meeting place, like this. Social media reactions on Facebook or Instagram are limiting. And frankly, they’re getting a bit too boring. They can never satisfy the need for more deliberate and dedicated exchanges. It my hope that we’ll co-create what we want as we share the wisdom of our lived experiences, here with each other.
Please chime in to tell us a bit about yourselves in the comments section below.
Some of you know me from various writing incarnations, which go way back. Several will remember my maiden name, expatriate years, my stint at CBS News, or my global management development decades, and my globalization column, under my first married name.
Many of us met via my Wisdom Wheel classes, during the years I ran a spiritual retreat sanctuary, as a ceremonial leader, on Prudence Island, now on the mainland, at Hope House, RI. Most new subscribers are only aware of my current married name, and most recent forays into publishing, with The Importance Of Paris, or Return to Wisdom planner journals.
I regularly teach a course that began around my dining room table in 2019, Would I, Could I, Should I Write a Memoir? Memoir Overview Course. Since the coronavirus restrictions set in, we moved onto Zoom, with my partnering organization, Story Circle Network. The next running of that two part eight week class begins July 19.
Although I feel vulnerable putting this out into the world on Substack, I’ve noticed I’m not alone in seeking to make changes right now. Many of us are determined to push on through this tumultuous stage despite of our uncertainty about what lies ahead.
Rather like the soft-shelled crabs, molting nearby along the eastern seaboard of our Atlantic Ocean, I’m obeying the undeniable urge to evolve. While shedding the security of my former format, who knows what will grow in place of what I’m giving up.
At this Initiation Law time of year on The Wisdom Wheel, I’m going to Trust the Process during this in between stage, just like these crustaceans do. Let’s stick together and keep in touch. Let’s remind each other of what’s worked before, during our transition times.
I hope you’re also feeling the need to continue growing because your participation is required in this ongoing adventure. To create more multidimensional, meaningful, relationships with each other, your support is necessary. As we regroup in this virtual community, let’s lighten each others loads and hearts. Let’s make this a fun place that’s easy to find and where we can recognize each other. Thank you so much.
Welcome to The Wisdom Wheel
A big shout out goes to Catherine S. for her subscription payment this week.
You deserve a prize, not just for this, but for the many years you have been involved with The Wisdom Wheel, hosting on-going study circles in Glastonbury, CT.
Immense gratitude to you and the others.
Little did we know when the very first three year study circle started in 1999, it would create such lasting bonds between graduates, who went on to teach their own circles and still meet!