“A return to a simpler, more natural manner of laying our loved ones to rest while preserving the beauty and natural integrity of their final resting place.” -Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center.
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June 5, 2018
Day 3
Part III
Passing through the summer green fileds, we toured around Narrow Ridge’s Natural Burial Preserve. Elleven years ago, Narrow Ridge kept five acres of land for a “green cemetery” to honor the natural cycle of birth, death, and renewal. They were actually rewared with a letter from the state of Tennessee as the first operating contemporary community cemetery. Incredible… A “green cemetery” I have never heard of such a thing.
I questioned how excatly does this process work and what makes it so special? My science brain pushing inquiries as usual. Their natural burial preserve differs from coventional cemeteries in that it “expressly intended to be free of embalmig fluids, concrete vaults, non-biodegradable caskets, and chemical fertliziers.” Their grave marking are made out of native plants and modestly sized, flat markers of stone native to the area permitted. Over time, the site will return to a natural forest with trails that provide access to grave sites. Pretty cool huh?
Why should anyone choice a natural burial? (According to Narrow Ridge)
A way of honoring the natural rhythms of the life cycle.
A way of connecting with our distant ancestors who would have buried their loved ones in a simialr manner.
A way of reducing the extraction of metals and other materials involved in conventional burial.
A way of reducing the use of toxic chemiclas found in embalming fluids and lawn ferilizers.
A simpler and more affordable manner of honoring the life and death of a loved one.
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“Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace.”
Still curious about Naural Burials?
“Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center is a 501c(3) nonprofit center for Earth learning situated in the rural Appalachian Mountains fo East Tennessee. Located in Grainger County, it is about 30 miles northeast of Knooxville, Narrow Ridge is entrusted with the protection of over 500 acres of land.
For more information or to reserve a site in the Natural Burial Preserve, contact Narrow Ridge Director, Mitzi Wood-Von Mizener at (865)-497-2753 or (865)-497-3603 or comunity@narrowridge.org. “
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who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver
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June 5, 2018
Day 3
Part II
The labyrinth sight was next….in all honesty, I did not know what to expect. We hiked up a small mountain, settling between tree barks and flowers. Bill instructed us to meditate around the trails and meet again after the second bell. The sight was a garden of pebbles, spring flowers, bees, birds, and old benches. Everyone began to spread apart, some walked west, some up the hill, others remained settled. I decided to take a familiar path up the mountaintop and re-explore the trees. My feet stumbled between buried sticks and hidden tree roots yet, I didn’t mind them. I walked uphill at first then jogged midway. Running through the trees I reminded myself this was supposed to be a silent meditation walk. I chuckled at my random urged to be active and refocused on taking things slowly. Step by step I walked back to the center-spot where we gathered. Closing my eyes I sensed direction through my memory of grass trails and the feel of the ground, almost as if I was night-hiking again. Reopening my eyes I saw others smell flowers, some sat quietly, and the majority just walking in circles. It was interesting seeing everyone connect by disconnecting.
Bill rung the bell, the rest reappeared as we sat in a circle. Some of the locals joined our labyrinth meditation, sharing old poems to fit our scenery. The play on words reminded me of poet Mary Oliver. They all delivered a sense of simplicity I connected with. We reflected in silence as each individual recentered an inner peace easily forgotten by the strings of worry, fear, confusion, or other distractions. The experience allowed me to be conscious of being conscious and remain focused on the conciliation of divided thoughts.
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Body, mind, and soul. The human trinity unites through flesh and bones, thoughts and emotions, and an empty internal being. But are these three really united? I couldn’t help thinking mine weren’t. When was I really conscious of the speed of blood pumping in my veins, or the feel of wet skin when I worship in an overheating car, or the tight neck pain I ignore when I’m focused on the book in my hand? Often I am completely disconnected from the very parts of myself that make me, me. With this mindful thought, how do I unite my human trinity? Was I once truly conscious of this? Reflecting on the behaviors of children, they live oblivious to the complete organic function of knowing when to express their inner-self on the bases of their physicality, heart, and spirit. I was able to find this natural child-like functionality, where I am conscious of every part of me within the connection of yoga practice.
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– We tend to pass through most things that manage to catch our breath at first glimpse… almost as if our brains were wired to be stimulated for seconds until the climax of entertainment fades. But rarely do we question the depth of our intake or taste its realms to the fullest.
June 5, 2018
Day 3
Part. I
I slept through the whole album of After All These Years (Instrumental)- Bethel and woke up with the sound of loud females getting ready at 7am in the morning. We hustle our O.T.G (Outfit-of-the-day) and slapped on sunscreen with a few layers of mascara for that natural look. The food bell rung as we gather around in a circle. This routine became one of my favorites. Back home, my family would gather before dinner and pray. Prayer is sweet and full filling before a meal until it becomes long, repetitive, and unsentimental….in other words reglious. Things are different here. No prayer, just an open monologue reflection of what we are grateful for. Each person lists a thing or two and each time I surrender my restrainment from smiling. Maria especially always makes me smile, her comments are always heartfelt. We filled our bellies with warm oatmeal, strawberries, bananas, apples, and sweet tea. After breakfast, Mitzi announced we going to practice yoga with Angela Gibson.
Oh boy, yoga Part 2? I was excited about trying this again. To my surprise, Angela was completely humble and welcoming. She made me feel completely at ease. I realized from the start, yoga practice in this environment was not about who could perform the best position or who is the most flexible. There was no competition here, everyone was solely focused on themselves. We closed our eyes and followed the warm voice Angela lead. I listened to the birds sing with the wind, and let my heartbeat join their chorus. The sun beat followed, drumming her hot affection for the dew green trees. I let my muscles release their tension with every breath, pull, stretch, and shift. It felt like a slow dance, where I allowed each movement flow with the next. We let our hands pick stars over our heads then sprinkle in a circular motion until our fingertips met and we palmed kissed, centering our hands to our hearts. After a moment we breathed in and released a breath of ahh, b r e a t h e d in and released a breath of aahh, b r e a t h e d in and r e l e a s e d a breath of aaahhh.
Everyone opened their eyes and gifted one another with a peaceful smile. The kind that comes naturally when every worry melts and the only thing on your mind is what is right in front of you. We rolled our mats, placing them neatly on the outside cabin portch. The labyrinth sight was next….in all honesty I did not-
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If I stare at a picture for a long time, the image becomes distorted like the reflection of my inner mind. It moves left, up, right, down, the pattern interlocks, repels and comes back together again. It’s all about perspective they say. Many times our common point of reference only depicts the surface of what we see. Rarely do many of us question the underlying depth of information we are given. What would happen if we all dare to question? Would we be enlightened?
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June 4, 2018
Day 2
Part. III
-Their home was strange to me. Everything they owned was ancient. Their books, wooden floors, fans, and bed sheets. I haven’t seen anything like it in person, it was peculiar for me to witness a couple who chooses to live with simple old things. Would I ever choose to live like this? Never bothering to buy the new iPhone or trending makeup brand. Would I ever willingly decide to completely be carefree with materialistic items and use the old, functional items that existed before me? It must be peaceful to live like them. No distractions, just each other’s company.
I walked back to Strawbale, following the footsteps nearby. I had arrived just before The Leadership Project meet-up was announced. We gathered around the living room and learned that we were expected to return with community projects. I was excited about this, it would be the first time I would work on a project without receiving a grade. We were divided into groups based on our campus, Wolfson, North, and Kendall. After a few brainstorms, I had some ideas in mind but we were told ideas were to be presented next meeting.
Mitzi pointed to a pretty painting on the wall. There were blue hands playing with a yard of blue strings interlocked with yellow stars and a light blue earth with four blue suns. The blue earth danced with distinctive plants and microscopic creatures signaling new birth. The microorganisms became insects flying between bushes, flowers, and trees. A dark tribe of women then gave birth and liberated fish jumped at sea with a brown walking turtle circling a pitch black butterfly. The blue yarn then swirled into an upside-down baby who grew into a strong man. The man was learning, building, molding until he reached the view of mountains. There he met her.
We were asked to view the mountain. “What do you guys see?” asked Bill. The mountain was indifferent to me. All I saw was a green mountain. I did my best to look closely, but like the rest of us…nothing. Mitiz traced lines on the light and dark green shades between forest and mountain. I saw it! It’s was a pregnant woman laying down! It was mother nature! It looked exactly like our view outside. She was present all along, right under our noses…I just had no idea. Incredible. We tend to pass-
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“You are P E A C E to a restless soul P E A C E when my thoughts wage war P E A CE to the anxious heart That’s who You are, that’s who You are You are P E A C E when my fear takes hold P E A C E when I feel enclosed You are P E A C E when I lose control That’s who You are, that’s who You are.”- Amanda Cook
My mind is always on drive mode, it turns, accelerates, shifts, but never breaks. Finding a roadless spot, I discovered, is an easy way to let go of the petal. So I wandered around guiding my feet by the signs of tree bark, road mapping to freedom. I sat down and b r e a t h e d in what is right in front of me, knowing life is sustained by each breath I take. I let the strings of thought release into the stillness of forest air and watched my inner darkness lit into f l a m e s.
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June 4, 2018
Day 2
Part. II
-I saw a few people put on straw hats and gloves. “It’s time for gardening!” Bill shouted. We hopped on mini trucks and drove down the mountaintop to a lovely garden. The ground was green and rich. There were sections divided into different veggie categories, mostly lettuces. We were grouped into teams of two or more and got our hands dirty… really dirty. I was partnered with Marines, Maria, Salua, and Maryl on the weed-pulling task. I took my gloves off and pulled on stubborn weeds one by one with the naked strength of my skinny fingers. My muscles stretched as I yanked and giggled at the fact that these little suckers were stronger than me. After a few tries, I got the hang of things, I became a weed-pulling machine! The sun was unyielding today, pouring it’s bursting hot affection to the curls of our brows. We sighed and took water breaks in between. Besides the hard work, I couldn’t help feeling good afterward. An hour or two passed by, lunch was announced ready. We picked up our tools happily, humming Yay food tunes between our lips as we foot-traveled back to Strawbale.
Lunch was served, zucchini pasta with a cup of ice tea and a side of a quick afternoon clean-up. It was time for Alone time and journaling. We were told every day we will have about two hours to ourselves to simply wander around Narrow Ridge and reflect, meditate, sleep, journal, or do anything we would like. I was excited about this, exploration was my thing! Immediately, I left stumbling down the mountain unsure of which route to take. Less than halfway down this trail, a large dog popped up out of nowhere. He was so happy it made me want to follow him instead. Hey there, where are you going? I called to him. He barked in response running uphill. I trusted this stranger and followed him up a skinny pebble-wagging-trail (tail). Once we reached the top, he went back down a different pebble trail, so I did the same. He then went back up the same uphill trail, I laughed. The dog was messing with me or what? He was going up and down in circles? I felt like that was something a scared human would do when their being followed. I decided to keep walking north to test what the dog would do. He followed me, I smiled. I made a new friend. We walked straight for about twenty minutes until I found the library. It is a small wooded-home filled with books about community, sustainability, and spirituality. An old piano was placed to the left by a composting toilet. The dog went to the kitchen as I took in the place. I poured him a bowl of water then tried playing some keys. Although the piano was too old to make a lively sound, I played it anyway, ignoring the emptiness of the song and replacing it with the sound I created in my head. I wasn’t sure what I was playing, this seemed to reason with me regardless.
Somehow, I sensed more than an hour has passed. I don’t know how to explain this, but sometimes I get his gut feeling that my time is running out. So I stepped outside to figure out where to go next. The dog ran opposite from me, hearing someone else on the other side. I whispered bye doggy and walked west to another trail. There was a road with more woods on the other side. I crossed it and found a hidden stream. It took my breath away. I have never seen a stream in the woods like this before. I sat beside her rocks and listened. The sound of running water was soothing like the touch of drawing fingers on an undressed back. I closed my eyes and felt the sun rays tickle my skin between the shades of trees. Little birds chirped high-pitch and the stream followed their chorus. I imagined my worries flying away on a continuous stream of forgetfulness. I pictured they would get caught on branches by the stream and lit into flames reducing to deathly remains of dust, and finally, I felt peace.
After a moment, I climbed upwards searching for another mystery. There was this dark redwood house, I heard we were allowed to enter the community folk’s home, there were all kind and inviting. It looked like there was no one there. I was just about to step foot until Professor Augustin came out from the other side. Hey, I just came from there, you should see it. I told him I will and he left warning me not to take too long. Their home was strange to me. Everything they owned was-
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The feeling of restlessness is overwhelming, it distorts our vision and keep us grounded in fear instead of love. This is a song that reminds how to find rest again.
Have you ever envisioned yourself running in a field of weeds as a careless-giggling child racing against the wind, screaming from the top of your lungs like your soul depended on it? I have, and in my daydream, it tastes like d e l i c i o u s freedom. The kind of freedom you crawl for when the cornerstone of your thoughts make your inner self-flinch at the touch of sticky-web words-perfectly carried by filaments of fear across the interval of darkness. My itch for liberty from rapid-web lies was haunting, escaping it took me late cries towards my fatherly God hiding behind the moon. Soul-rest settled when I met the creator of such webs, and finally, I let go of the tiny-destructive black spider one breath at a time.
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-We reached the spot where a multitude of these slimy creatures sung their love songs with the soul of a church choir. I giggled and listened tenderly, their tunes weren’t heard loudly but soundly. It took complete ear-ly-focus to feel the harmony of late nature’s weep, it was… beautiful. My heart synced with the music beneath the shadow trees as we walked all the way back to strawbale lodge. Winds caressed my skin releasing an inner chill…not the fearful kind that makes your stomach ache but the restful kind that blows away the foggy-web thoughts and makes the spider tremble.
I used the composting toilets, and it was pretty awkward. Never have I endure so much anxiety to just “go.” Imagine having to do your business in a bathroom anyone could walk in to. The strangest thing was dumping waste and not hearing the toilet-water splash! It just dropped down this airy hole! (Lol super weird) On the bright side, the showering system isn’t bad at all, running water is hot enough for steam to k i s s my icy skin. As of now, my night-hike aftermath consists of sleepy-eyed Nina and I squirming at the itty-bitty spiders on our bunk bedsides. She is on the left, I am on the right, and on each side, we managed to both neighbor webs of tiny spiders. There’re harmless, I remind myself constantly. The open windows don’t help either, so I am deciding to do what I always do when my I feel restless…vibe with Jesus music. I plan on playing After All These Years (instrumental)-Bethel Music and finally chill. Goodnight journal, sweet dreams, don’t let the spider-bug bite. (;
June 4, 2018
Day 2
Part. I
*Ding* *Ding* ran the food bell in the living room, signaling breakfast is ready. The fact that we hungry humans ran desperately for food reminded me of Pavlov’s dog experiment in psychology focused on classical conditioning. The experiment demonstrates how dogs automatically drool after hearing a bell ring and receiving food shortly afterward. Dogs drool at the sound of bells-like humans smile at the sound of Instagram notifications. Funny. We gathered around in a circle hand-and-hand like we did before and shared our gratitude. Many of us were grateful for the night-hike, I especially enjoyed the mini-lesson of stars Bill taught, like how Venus is located west and Jupiter is located east. Carol presented our breakfast with such tenderness, she reminds me of a sweet humble grandmother. Her big excited blue eyes are vibrant like the night sky in the mountains, and her smile is brighter than the sun. I feel at ease with her, like I could show her my web and she would be happy to dust it away.
We ate a bowl of warm homemade oatmeal, bread with jelly, and lots of yummy fruits! mmmm. I made small talk with Arlet, Maria, and Nick, until it was time for after-meal cleanup and then the bell rang again. It’s time for our heart-to-heart session said Mitizi. Heart-to-heart session? What’s is this? One by one we sat together curious on the sofas asking ourselves what this would be like. Bill and Mitzi explained there will be one rock passed around the circle, whoever has the rock becomes the speaker as everyone else listens (no interruptions.) Bill went first, he shared how excited he was to spend time with us and see where this experience will take us day by day. As the rock was passed down, each person expressed their inner thoughts. We began uncovering underlying truths gradually as turn by turn I listened to the tone of nerves swallowing down throats, and tiny specks of clothed emotions began to undressed. We stripped ourselves from judgment, there was no sense of critique here in a gathering of perfect strangers. We quickly discovered opening ourselves bare is not a sign of weakness, but rather an act of strength. *It takes courage to be real with others, but it takes boldness to be real with yourself.*
As each person spoke, I surprisingly discovered I wasn’t the only one hiding a black spider in my head. Some of us had plenty of those pitch black insects running around the insides of our skulls, chewing on the flies of lies, and fogging our vision with pretty webs. We decided to strip our deathly thoughts to the hands of each other’s arms. We cried, and the unity of spiders shifted to the unity of butterflies. I smiled at the beauty of a bittersweet moment. After our tears dried and our hearts lifted, we giggled at the new bond forming between us, a diverse species of Rhopaloceras. Never have I experience a more open environment, the atmosphere tastes like freedom here. After our heart to heart session, Mitzi mentioned we will have alone time later to explore the depths of Narrow Ridge and find our secret place. She then handed us maps and guided us on tour in the up and down trails of busy treetops and long pebble roads.
After the tour, we have scheduled for “An Activity” no one had a clue about. I was told we were going to work on community projects …I wondered what “working” is like here? It’s not like there are many clerks or accountants, or business type-folks. People here are grounded in serving others beyond quick-fingertips locked on cold keyboards behind the desk pile of paper-chores. Their element is more on the pleasure of service. Rare that is to find a back home. A group of individuals willing devoted to contributing to society with passion in their hearts and persistence in their strong hands, what scenery.
Maryl called us over with her sweet cheesy grin and large straw hat. She told us to slap on some sunblock and wear a shirt we wouldn’t mind getting dirty. Oh man, looks like this activity is going to get us real messy! I saw a few people put on-
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Back home I would lay down, c l o s e my eyes during daylight and dream of stars. Lots of them, tiny, big, medium-sized, all scattered around like freckles on pale skin. I imagine they are really doors of infinite portals that lead to galaxies of wishes, a smear collection of every human whispered wish granted by a lucky beamed shooting-star. Wonder became my reference frame, beautifully instilled in my every thought. Daydreamer is an understatement. The nickname limits me to dream only during the day. In reality, I keep my creative-high active as long as I am conscious, time is simply immeasurable to my dreaming state. I suppose even my subconscious is a vivid fantasy, and Narrow Ridge gave me the raw experience to feed such free-spirit muse.
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June 3, 2018
Day 1
Part III
-The after-meal cleanup group was first in line (of course!) We were all eager to see and taste the veggie handmade meal. We ate plant-based meatless-meatloaf with crispy toasted wheat-bread and warm spread jelly, a scoop of hot mash-potato, along with the side of carrot mixed quinoa and fresh tossed salad. Mmmm where my thoughts after the first bit. I must admit, eating vegetarian meals for a couple days doesn’t seem that bad.
Yoga was scheduled next, then….a night hike? Oh boy, I never hiked in my entire life! How many miles will we walk? I’m out of shape but hey I did do cross-country last year, I still have some kind of endurance (I hope)
A few hours afterward…
I don’t think I have ever inappropriately giggled so much, Jesus I am such an embracement but in all honesty, for a first-time yoga session, our instructor was too funny-mouthed with her meditations. I think a good amount of us giggled this first session, we Hispanic-Miamians never meditate or practice yoga due to being overly consumed by materialism and feeding our self-esteem with 100(+) likes on carefully constructed images captioned Sipping bubbly, living lovely. Why do we do this? Why fall under the spell of mindless virtual seeking self-gratification? I don’t know, but what I want…what I need is to detox from it for while. I came to the right place. There is an underlying peace the settles in when my thoughts aren’t divided into Snapchat stories or Twitter timelines.
After our rookie-yoga sesh, we prepared for the most hipped activity of the day…our night hike. I was excited for this one, Bill said there will be stars out. I never really seen stars. City-lights are perfect buffers for nature’s glow like foundation are perfect buffers for woman’s natural beauty. I chit-chatter all the way up the mountains, the hike was not as bad as I expected, we walked at a very steady pace. Everyone was more than capable of walking all the way to the top. (Yay!) *There is twelve of us in total, Nina, Navi, Nick, Marines, Maria, Arlet, Diego, Joel, Cesar, Xavier, and professor Augusten, * We reached the falt green tops of the main mountain, I named her starlight since we came to watch these tiny(large) composture of atoms beam through a projected space across the thick carbon clouds until finally, our naked eyes could witness a twinkle-spark.
The North star appeared first, navigating our eyes as Venus followed, then Jupiter, and then the rest of them flickered one by one. Bill called us over to spot the stars up close in his telescope. The sight was breathtaking, never have I seen such wondrous work of art. As the night grew darker, big dipper’s and little dipper’s shape formed. We all laid there, starstruck until it was time for our hike back…with no flashlight! “Don’t worry, fireflies will lead the way! said Bill. Fireflies? Mitzi then assured us we will follow the robe system, everyone will hold on to the rope and follow the trail back down the mountains. See, if we were going backward from the same path I would have been totally cool with it, but we were actually walking towards the opposite direction, as Mitzi lead us to a whole different path. How do they know where the hell they’re going? I really don’t know. Honestly, these two have extremely gifted senses because I promise, I was pretty much blind. Sure, the fireflies were all over the place but it was still pitch black. Fear was pushing towards the surface, so I swallowed it and told it to screw itself. I’ve always been up for a little adventure, besides this is completely safe, there are no wild animals at least.
After a couple of minutes into the hike, the strangest thing happened. I began to see in the dark. Night-vision they call it, humans really do have it! My eyes somehow properly adjusted to the darkness and this great relief centered me. Often we took breaks, spotting glowing worms, they are what I call pre-fireflies, awaken by the moonlight and heavy human foot-traveling. These creatures were hard to find, their rareness kept me on my toes. Halfway in, I felt my mind drift at ease. Besides Arelt (the witty-but-loud funny Cuban behind me) stepping on my foot most of the time, and the nervous giggles here and there, the experience felt like a walking meditation. I was so focused on my surroundings it was refreshing to have such a high sense of awareness. Although night-vision kicked in, it wasn’t perfect. I had to shift my attention to my other senses. My ears became alert, my spatial awareness was heightened, and everything around me, I became completely present. I listened to the tone of wind harmonizing with the trees shifting in their sleep. I listened to the crunch of wood bark beneath my feet and watched the strange movements of tree branches dancing in the corner of my eye. The moon hiding behind magic grey dust smiled, and I felt a welcoming presence.
Alright folks, quite now we are going to hear the frogs sing! called out Bill. Oh my Lord…frogs? I usually cringe at that them but the way Bill spoke about singing frogs made me picture the scene in princess and the frog where they had a true orchestra performance. We reached the spot where-
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Before reading, feel free to tongue dip in hot coffee or calming tea and just breathe. This is the story of oozing t r a n s f o r m a t i o n. Simply explore each word with the delicacy of a butterfly wing.
Climbing the trail of steady mountains to reach strawbale lodge was quite the adventure! I was mostly tired from the plane ride but, I am not one to completely rid myself of butterflies.My excitement crept in when my lips twisted and my smile slipped through my weary face. My toes welcomed the touch of wooden floors as the long open windows freely stretched their thick warmth towards me, almost as if they were greeting my unsteadiness with kindness.
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June 3, 2018
Day 1
Part II
Strawbale lodge is beautifully transparent. This wooden home is small yet spacious, old yet refreshing, and simple yet welcoming. The large windows elegantly release fluttering laughter from our greatest star. Ironically enough, this light is inescapable within a non-electrically powered home. (Yup, no electricity.) This place is actually solar-powered inside out. Today is the first time I will live in a solar-powered…building? Weird, the word “building” doesn’t seem to fit here. This is more than a product of brilliant men and woman. This place is a home built by the humble souls of a hard-working community, and somehow it effortlessly carries a welcoming essence.
My room is not the cleanest. The first thought that popped in my head was, I feel like I’m in my grandma’s house. I could tell by the restless smile on Nina’s face (my roommate,) that she thought the same thing. Our bunk beds are at least sturdy and cozy. This made me cheesy-grin…until I noticed about seven spider-webs between the space of my ceiling and the corners of my bed (Ew!) Once settled, many of us wandered around the place, exploring the old up-and-down stairs. The room I found to be the most peculiar was the bathroom. There is no “private” bathroom but a communitive one. The wooden stalls are dusty and shelter a bug or two, but what’s really cringe-worthy are the toilets. These aren’t real toilets! They don’t flush! The toilets are actually holes piled up with our waste and wood-shavings? Mizi (the director) instructed us their toilets are Composting Toilets. What does that even mean? She told us how we are required to use the toilets (as we normally would,) throw away the used toilet paper down the toilet hole, and add a cup of wood-shavings provided in each stall. Afterward, we are supposed to close the toilet lid so our waste could compost properly. I found this all very strange but still interesting…I wondered if everyone else around here has composting toilets? The idea of it didn’t seem so bad anymore.
I stepped outdoors and breathed in this new air, following the wings of a shy butterfly. She was young, free, and sweet. Almost as if she sensed my inquiry, she moved towards me s l o w l y and rested between my fingertips. Her lips kissed the tickle of sweat in the palm of the hand. Her sweetness caught me off guard as I remained in awe. Such a fearful creature chose human interaction over her very nature to fly away into the unknown. *Ding* Ding* The bell rung! Mizi and Bill called us downstairs and introduced us to Carol and Maryl, locals who will be cooking our veggie-meals (part of the program is eating only plant-based meals for 10 days.) They also introduced us to Salua and Zack who were previous narrow ridge participates that decided to volunteer here this summer. Would I return to this place?
“Gather around everyone, join hands and form a nice circle,” Mitzi said with her cheerful voice. “Before we begin, I would like to share how grateful I am for all of you here.” Her smile eased our tension a bit. Are we all going to say what we are grateful for? “I am also very grateful for having the chance to meet you all, and I thank Ben (our trip chaperone) for allowing everyone the opportunity to come here.” Bill seconded.“I am so grateful for the very yummy food we are about to eat because I am quite hungry, *giggle, giggle* and also for Carol’s helping hand,” said Maryl. Yup, little by little, we all shared our gratitude. I have to say it felt nice to reflect on something positive before eating, it gave me happy vibes. After everyone shared, Maryl and Carol announced what we will be having for lunch today. We then gathered around and spun a chore wheel (everyone’s name is on it, there was no escaping this.) I was grouped with Nick (the business major that loves English) and Cesar (the sweet-hearted student.) The wheel has chores like before-meal setup, after-meal cleanup, toilets, and dishes. The rule is whichever group had dishes, eats first! Luckily, my group had the easy chore, before-meal clean up (setting the tables and sweeping the floors.)
The after-meal cleanup group was first in line (of course!) We were all eager to see and taste the veggie handmade meal. We ate plant-based meatless-meatloaf-
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June 3rd was the beginning of an awakening! I received the opportunity to live among a community of environmentalists for seven days! (This was definitely not my scene!) They live within the midst of a rich-green forest called Narrow Ridge in the outskirts of Washburn, Tennessee. My heart had endured a metamorphosis, starting with…..
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June 3, 2018
Day 1
Part I
It has been only one day and already my mind has been renewed. Narrow Ridge holds a sense of simplicity I find myself easily drawn to. The people I’ve met here are not only knowledgeable but mindful. Leaders like founder Bill Nickel and director Mitzi Mizener are so incredibly transparent, kind, and humble. They both share a deep-rooted connection with their surroundings- I find their candid affection inviting and refreshing. What different perspectives they share with life in every sense!
In the fast-paced city of Miami, it’s too easy for me to become self-engulfed with my own busy-bee mind and fluttering goals. How lovely it was today to simply remember the essence of how I am sustained by nature herself. For this, I express my greatest gratitude. I am forever grateful to have been kindly introduced to her. My heart’s reference point has shifted. I am now steady on cultivating my own relationship with nature like the Narrow Ridge folks.
Join my life’s metamorphosis story, Every Thursday @4pm!
Dayy-Dreammer 