This essay comes two days after the 2024 US presidential election, and about six weeks after Hurricane Helene.
It’s tempting to give up.
Yesterday morning I woke up and felt like doing just that.
I felt a “fuck it” wash over me, a hair-raising fear, and a deep loneliness.
As though I were suddenly on a planet whose atmosphere I was not designed to survive in, I withered and wanted out.
My purpose and Work-in-the-world felt stupid and small — fleeting, ineffective, and inconsequential.
But then.
I found myself in meaningful conversations, the ones I’m always having.
I read the wise words of leaders, artists, and master humanitarians, the words I’m always reading.
And I felt my purpose double down, sink deeper roots, and fill my lungs with the vital air of Earth.
Plus, I have vowed this season to persist, a vow I took last February with The Priestess archetype without knowing why.
But obviously, I Knew.
So, I’m writing to you with what I Know, capital K.
I Know that this is not the time to isolate.
You are not alone.
I Know that “together” is a medicine, an IV bag of nutrients mainlining into our systems.
I Know that having purpose is more important now than ever.
Your purpose is important.
I Know that vows are real, and they work to keep us aligned to our Selves, our Work, and our purpose, among other things.
I Know that when we fixate on a single reality, a specific climate, we miss the medicine of the other realities surrounding us.
There is a political climate, and there’s also the climate of your community.
There’s a political climate, and also the moon in its phases, Earth in its seasons, the wild in its migratory patterns.
I Know that it’s possible to live in paradox, fleeting and stable, hopeless and hopeful, disintegrating and building, confused and unshakably clear.
Clarity is especially applicable here in the county where I live.
Since Hurricane Helene, our town has not had clear municipal water. We’ve been waiting for our reservoir, a giant puddle of the most gorgeous water held in a cradle of the oldest mountains on earth, to clear.
It filled with sediment from every spring, creek, and river, so now it’s full of mud, clay, and all manner of particulates. The water in our reservoir is dangerously unclear
You might be feeling the same way; dangerously unclear.
Unclear about what to do now or if your work, or even your life, is meaningful
You might be unclear how to feel safe now, how you and your community will survive, much less thrive.
Using Nature as a mirror, I see the way water clears after it’s been disturbed is through time, patience, and allowing a natural flow.
So, we do this for ourselves.
We have patience, but we don’t stagnate.
We give ourselves time to get clear, but we don’t stop moving, breathing, or being,
And we don’t abandon our purpose.
I also Know that you definitely have a purpose.
How?
Because that’s my purpose.
And I’m super clear about my purpose right now; doubled down on that big time.
I Know that I’m designed to support you as you locate and offer your purpose, your Work in the world.
I Know that I’m here to gather like-minded souls; creatives, weirdos, witches, and women in pursuit of personal evolution, building intimacy with nature, and cultivating self-awareness.
How?
Through a pedagogy (a way, a system, an approach) that I call The Darkwood School.
Full transparency — between the hurricane and the election results, The Darkwood School’s usual enrollment time frame (Oct & Nov) has been knocked on its ass, so you’ll forgive me if I take this opportunity?
Given what’s happened in the last 6 weeks, a program like Darkwood 101 or a Writer’s Residency might feel pretty far from the hierarchy of basic needs; irrelevant, or at best some sort of luxury.
But then we consider climate again.
People and their beliefs define social climate.
And if we have people who are honoring and offering their purpose and Work, aligning with Nature and their own nature, committing to their own evolution, and coming together in an atmosphere of self-awareness, support, and creativity, that’s a seriously life supporting climate.
That’s a climate where we can breathe.
And we gotta breathe.
So, that’s my purpose. I’m here to support you as you contribute to a climate where we can all breathe.
If you like the sound of a whole year of tending to your purpose, vibing up your magic, and aligning with Nature, then join me in The Darkwood School.
If you are in a position to consider attending Mystery School, please do.
Now more than ever, your purpose is important.
Now more than ever, togetherness is important.
Now more than ever, clarity is important.
So don’t give up or give in. Don’t wither and want out. Don’t feel insignificant.
Take a breath, and another one, and another one. Feel your life.
Feel it big time.
And keep going.
Because we need you, and the world needs your Work now more than ever.
love and childless cat ladies,
xo
kv
