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    • Nurture
    • RETREATS
    • SERVICES
    • HARVEST TABLE DINNERS
    • BLOG
    • ABOUT
      • PRESS
      • TESTIMONIALS
      • PAST RETREATS
    • CONTACT
      • APPLY
    • RETREATS
    • SERVICES
    • HARVEST TABLE DINNERS
    • BLOG
    • ABOUT
      • PRESS
      • TESTIMONIALS
      • PAST RETREATS
    • CONTACT
      • APPLY

  • Yesterday, I read one of my old insta posts to fam Yesterday, I read one of my old insta posts to family and friends gathered to honour my Oma. Scroll back a bit to find a true story about her marriage, whipped cream, and war.⠀ ⠀ Afterwards, people felt relieved I'd shared parts of her character that fell outside the saintly lines of the rest of yesterday’s testimony. ⠀ ⠀ My Oma was definitely not a saint. A deeply flawed yet deeply purpose-driven human, the magic of her life lay in her faith in spite of where life placed her: poor; in the middle of a war; an immigrant. In spite of her flaws (a PhD in martyrdom, stubbornness, a tendency to emote via crashing cookware), she responded to her calling: being a living testament to what God's love could accomplish.⠀ ⠀ While I can no longer call her up for tips on her streusel cake (“I bake it by my nose, Sonja, no measurements”), I am now lucky to call on her as an ancestor. I can turn to her for inspiration as well as guide posts to the patterns of my lineage I wish to end with me. ⠀ ⠀ Inspired by her life, I saw I must make room for my own faith ‘in spite of'. Navigating the 'war' of this pandemic, I've felt lost, purposeless: full of despair, grief, and burnout. Aside from importantly sharing Nurture’s stance on Black Lives Matter, I've stayed quiet because I haven't felt ‘qualified’ to represent a company rooted in self care when I'm failing at doing more than simply surviving during this time. My Oma's legacy reminds me: that's blasphemy. I can also be a living testament to what love can do in hard times. I can tell the truth. ⠀ The real gift of Nurture isn't food, gathering, or intentional aesthetics. It is creatively cultivating space for the compassion required to be human in the face of what stands in your way. I forgot I can write about what is true and beautiful while what we know falls down around us. I forgot that maybe you feel just as lonely, frustrated or dampened by the current state of the world. That you, like me, like Oma, might also be shutting the utensil drawer more dramatically than usual because where else is the rage supposed to go? I forgot it can go right here. That it might bring some relief that sainthood isn’t our legacy: compassion is.
    Black lives matter. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I am not immune, Black lives matter. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I am not immune, nor is my company, to the ways in which racism and white privilege manifest themselves in the systems I live, work, hire and create in. Equally, I am responsible for noticing and amending the ways I have been asleep (and in some cases conveniently, even intentionally, so) to the harm caused. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Fact: who actually sits around the Nurture table, much less feels welcome there, is not dictated, as I used to lazily assume, ‘by default’ via who buys a ticket, or even, (hello bypassing!) ‘by fate’. Closer examination of my own privilege and the privilege inherent in the ‘wellness’ industry, of which Nurture is a part, must now be and remain a priority. The learning/unlearning taking place shows me that I, that we (as a company, as a collective, as a human race) can no longer afford to ignore the realities that keep folks from marginalized communities away from the resources they need the most. To remind you, at Nurture, those resources are: a place at the table for your body, soul and creative spirit to be fed, while connecting deeply with yourself, in supportive community. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ With precious few (potent and incredible) exceptions, the Nurture cohorts and partnerships have been primarily with white companies and individuals, and, as a result, sorely out of alignment with one of Nurture’s deepest values: that everyone has a seat at this table. I believe and have direct experience that the potency of the Nurture experience is strengthened by the presence of the voices, talent, power and truth of BIPOC, as well as those who identify as differently-abled or LGBTQ. Belief, however, is nothing without action. That is where I have faltered, and where I now vow to DO better. These vows are not taken lightly. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ At Nurture, we’ve spent time in contemplation, education and reflective auditing and have pledged to continue. We are now actively focused on ways in which the retreat and its real power source, the Nurture community, can be made more accessible and welcoming to all. To read more about the steps we’re taking, please read our full statement on our blog via link in bio. Cont'd in comments...⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ 📷: @jodianne.beckford
    There's nothing like the unsteady whirl of energy There's nothing like the unsteady whirl of energy and emotion to make you feel like you are experiencing two worlds at once: the world you know and the developing world, which is full of the mystery of the unknown. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I struggle with the unknown. I want a map. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I want to feel like I'm on solid ground, not upside down in a world I no longer recognize. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ But I am reminded that every time life has gifted me with the unknown, it has gifted me with new perspectives; different colours of emotion that deepen my compassion for myself and others; a whole new palate of experience and wisdom to paint with creatively. It's shown me that the map is REVEALED, not provided. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ As we navigate this recent worldwide struggle, alongside the everyday up-and-down topography of our lives that exists in spite of what's happening globally, I think it's important to remember this: that the unknown can be an invitation to see things in a new way because the old ways will not work any longer. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Here's to the new ways, and, for those of us whose interests and livelihoods are already steeped in the creative study of holistic, trauma and privilege-informed, organic, self and co-regulatory areas of exploration, here's to sharing what we know with all whose hearts are beating uncertain right now. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ If you're struggling and need some ideas to connect with yourself with tenderness instead of fear right now, I'm a DM away. Love you as much as I love butter (ie: enough to tear up about it). ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ 📷: @katiebenfeyphoto of @stephpellett demonstrating how we should be holding things right now: so, so tenderly. ❤️
    I call it the drop down. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I feel it i I call it the drop down. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I feel it in moments when I'm meditating and my breathing regulates, steady and slow. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I feel it a few songs in on the dance floor when I suddenly stop self-consciously responding to imaginary eyes on me and start responding to the music.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I feel it when the onions and garlic mingle with the aromatics in the base of a stew and a multitude of individual flavours become one dish, speaking the same language: delicious. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I feel it when I tell the truth or hear it, with the same amount of satisfaction as a seatbelt click in a crowded taxi: I am free to move forward, but held. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ It's the beauty of things responding to how things actually are, for their own sake, and the power of what is revealed and created as a result. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ It's also how I feel and what I observe taking place in others during Nurture. In the workshops, at the shared meals, in the in-between moments where peace reigns and your inner self starts to speak loud enough to hear again. The voice you recognize with misty eyes and swelling heart, like: hello again, you. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ It's quiet, but firm and tells you things, like: where to go next, what to say yes or no to, whom to confide in, what to grow and what to shed. It's remarkably kind and infinitely compassionate with exactly the right sense of humour to remind you life is hilarious, even in the sticky parts. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ When's the last time you heard this voice? When did you last drop down? ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ If this kind of inner communication is what you're after, an FYI that today is your last chance to hop on our retreat waitlist for first access to our Spring retreat (May 8-10th)! Link in bio with allllllll the info and to sign up :) ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ For my waitlist kindreds (the fact there's almost 50 of you for only 8 spots makes me emotional with gratitude 😭❤️): tomorrow morning at 11am, check your inboxes, then check your 'drop down' for that yes feeling. You know the one! We can't wait to welcome you to Nurture, where you'll meet new friends and your wise ol' self! ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ 📷: @laurenkolyn_studio
    I think about the Nurture facilitators and their i I think about the Nurture facilitators and their intrinsic magic like 'creative perfume'. They share the essence of their beloved creative practices, informed by the core of who they are. In the sharing, their creative essence interacts with your own creative essence, and inspires new ways of thinking, seeing and interacting with the world around you.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Nurture workshops explore creativity as alchemy. I choose facilitators specifically for their own personal brand of magic so they can liberally sprinkle it on those attending, like creative fairy godmothers. I can’t wait for you to meet them!⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ My own creative essence is thinking about things in terms of flavour, scent and metaphor, so I thought it would be fun to introduce our Nurture Spring 2020 Team, as perfumes:⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Nicole Kagan @nicolekagan_art - hints of moss and forest acorn, dappled sunlight on bluebells, the 'new tree' smell of a twig snapped in Spring, ocean salt, copper⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Joy Asibey-Gabriel @joyasibeygabriel - wafts of macadamia nut, palm frond, amber, ripe papaya, summer morning dew on hibiscus flower⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Caitlin Jeffery @gentledecay - notes of molasses taffy, sour cherry IPA, cooling gingerbread, cedarwood, maple mulch, plum preserves made by a Polish grandmother⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Amber Ellis (our guest retreat photographer) @creatinglight.studio - lilac, white musk, ground coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle, bergamot and shortbread baked by a lover⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Stephanie Pellett (our beloved Nurture Creative Producer) @stephpellett - candy apple, summer sea spray, boyfriend sweater, lake pebble, peach blossom⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Intrigued? Our Spring retreat launches to our waitlist THIS FRIDAY, so grab a tea, get cozy and read our descriptive page with all the retreat details (and more about our magical team and the workshops they'll be hosting) via link in bio!⁠⠀ 📷: @laurenkolyn_studio
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