Hi friends - when I say that I believe stories shape our lives, for better or worse, I believe it, because I've seen it happen.
When I say that one of the most important things to which we can devote our attention is to discern the story we're telling, and ask how true and helpful it is, I deeply mean it, because I've seen it work.
And when I say that our annual Porch Gathering is intended as a place where we can do that very thing, joining with others on a path toward courage, creativity and community, I'm not just trying to find an effective marketing slogan.
It's a genuine, heartfelt invitation to an event that people say is life-giving, thoughtful, and helps guide us for the rest of the year. At the Porch Gathering we don't shy away from the most difficult things, but we do believe that there are ways to talk about what's going on in the world that help us feel more connected and less despair, more capable and less crazy, more alive and less scared. People usually don't change the world for the better by overstating the problem, understating our capacity, or claiming that only the worst things are happening at any given time. And we can't be whole if we pretend that there aren't some serious crises that require humane, and sometimes exhausting, interventions.
The point of the Porch Gathering is to discern a more whole story about the light and shadow around us, and our part in it. To bring what you have, and ask for what you need.
There will be music, movies, conversation, learning, rest, beauty, challenge, connection, in a beautiful and welcoming location, all in the spirit of transformative storytelling. These stories change the teller and the listener, moving us toward the ways in which the world - and all of us - are worth not only fighting for, but dancing, laughing, telling, breathing, and living for. If you feel drawn to a life-giving story that helps us live amidst enormous uncertainty, if you want to connect with others who feel the same way, and perhaps if you're feeling burned out and isolated amidst the bombardment of ugliness, separation, scapegoating, and tribalism that we call "the news", there's a place for you here.
The Porch Gathering is not a place to pretend that things are better than they are, but we won't deny the good either. All we need to do is to discern the most whole story available, figure out our place in it, and do the most we can with what we've been given. Not easy to do that alone - so come on over.
All the details are at www.theporchgathering.com
And when I say that I'd love to see you there, I mean that too.
Wishing you courage, creativity, and community in the spirit of a better story.