I’m a dreamer. I have a lot I want to do in my lifetime. (Ya know, grow a mass youth movement, win the Green New Deal, run a government agency implementing the GND, travel to every continent, get better at tennis. You know, all the things.) And maybe you, too, have dreams?
For me, those dreams are punctuated with a lot of fear. What if I fail? What if I can’t do it? What will people think?
Years of dreaming and scheming, of health & wellness projects with friends, of summer internships on urban farms, of organizing in a youth climate movement, have brought me to a place where I’m ready to move through my own fears, and make those dreams a reality.
So sharing a bit of my dream with you.
THE VISION
Key Words: Community, Collective, Organizing & Movement Building, Art, Spiritual Ecology, Healing & Wellness, Art
Imagine it’s the year 2028. The camera pans into a retreat center, collective & community right outside of Chicago or in Upstate New York. It’s a one stop shop for movement builders, creatives, healers and artists to do work to build towards a revolutionary future, where people and the planet can thrive.
You have organizers meeting and planning campaigns and strategies to take over the US government through running a national campaign to defund the military and fund the Green New Deal. You have artists (dancers, painters, photographers) coming together to plan exhibitions in 6 cities across the country, telling the story of the climate crisis through their mediums (e.g., paintings, film, photography, etc.) You have healers brainstorming ways to use yoga, somatics, and therapy to address needs of young people coming up in society plagued with disasters, from pandemics to violence to climate disasters. You have urban farmers on site growing an abundance of produce, that our community chefs turn into nourishing meals, to serve the entire community.
And behind the scenes of all of this, there’s a wellness center where people in the community can get massages & facials, a meditation and yoga studio, a pool in summer for people to take a break and have fun, tennis courts, basketball courts, and soccer fields where folks can get active, a cafe and smoothie shop where folks talk and plot and brainstorm and create. (Oh, and the architecture & design of the place is biophilic in nature, and runs on 100% renewable energy.)
A place to retreat. A place to create. A place to reimagine. A community teeming with people, all committed to building towards a cultural, political, and societal revolution, creating a future where people and the planet can thrive.
WHERE YOU FIT IN
I’m currently in a BIPOC Youth Justice & Healing Fellowship (ByJAH), and am getting support to build out Phase I of this vision, which is what I want to pitch you on. (If you want to get a sense of the entire vision, see the PHASES section below!)
You are someone who I’ve seen be deeply committed to your craft, and following passion. Whether you’re an organizer, an artist, an earthworker (e.g., urban farmer, cook, etc.), I don’t think I can build this powerful collective & retreat community without you.
In June of 2023, I’m planning to host a day-long retreat with friends I think may want to have a hand in turning this vision into reality. The retreat goals are:
Foster deep community and connection amongst young people
Create container for folks to deepen within their own self, healing, mindful practices
Create space to vision and image the future, through the lens of climate & individuals (e.g., organizer, dancer, artist, healer, etc.)
Make ask folks join core team to help vision how to make this reality
So will you join me?
Before you say yes, a few questions for you to think about:
Do you feel called to create and build intentional community? Do you want to connect with other people?
Do you believe in social justice? In using your medium (art, organizing, healing, etc.) to transform people and society?
If you said yes to any of these things, I encourage you to join me in NYC in the spring/summer!
Also. The hope isn’t that you particularly want to take responsibility for implementing this vision.
Mostly, I want to 1.) Pick your brain and really understand what you (as an artist, organizer, earthworker, or healer) best need so that you have the time, support and capacity to really hone your craft and 2.) Begin to identify people who do want to help implement this vision. 3.) Bring some really cool people I know together, and see what comes out of that!
So again, if interested and excited to help envision, sign up form here to get more info on the April retreat.
PHASES
Phase 1: Launch with a retreat in summer/fall 2023 (2023)
Phase 2: Launch core team, meet for 2-3 retreats over course of a year (2023-2024)
Phase 3: Launch implementation team (2024)
Phase 4: Break ground, build retreat center (2024 - 2028)
Phase 5: Open retreat center to the public (2027 - 2028)