Maturation Into Interdependence

This past summer Paige and I had the opportunity to participate with the School of Lost Borders in a vision fast in Southern Colorado. On the surface, being alone for 4 nights and 5 days in nature with 4 gallons of water for sustenance, may sound like an ideal punishment for your greatest adversary. However, for the two of us the experience proved to be one of the most transformative experiences of our lives.

In the four days of preparation before going out on the land, we experienced many doubts especially when we huddled in our tent every afternoon to avoid the monsoon rains. Yet, despite our deep-seated trepidation, we clarified our intentions and trusted ourselves to step into the unknown…

Over the next 108 hours we were plunged into some of our most tender parts and beckoned into complete surrender. In this profound ritual of letting go, each of us were found in a seen and unseen web of life that restored our deepest sense of connectivity to the earth, the sky, the plants, our ancestors, the future, spirit, and all else that could be named. For many quiet moments our illusion of separateness faded away.

Upon returning to our group with unique stories of convening with the land, we were struck by a similar sense of homecoming and maturation into interdependence.

As I continue to incorporate this experience into my everyday life, I am guided by the conviction that reclaiming our felt sense of interdependence is a potent medicine for healing the collective wounds of our time. Ecologist, Daniel Christian Wahl, writes,

In stepping from our juvenile — and at times reckless and self-absorbed — phase as a young species into a mature membership of the community of life on Earth we are called to become productive members of this community and to contribute to its health and wellbeing. Mature community membership means a shift towards a form of enlightened self- interest that goes as far as questioning the notion of a separate and isolated self at its very core. In the fundamentally interconnected and interdependent planetary system we participate in, the best way to care for oneself and those closest to oneself is to start caring more for the benefit of the collective (all life).

Interdependently,
The many parts of Ryan

P.S. This summer Flourish Foundation will offer Wilderness Rites of Passage through a vision fast for High School juniors, seniors, and college students. Let us know if you are interested