Hey there,
How's your day unfolding today?
Yesterday, I got to romp around some snow with Nathan and Ernest and (from the couch) witnessed an incredible sunset.
However you're spending your time right now, I do hope there's some gratitude, food, kin, nature, and indigeneity somewhere nearby on your schedule or nearby your body... whether or not it's related to a holiday or a discounted purchase.
I've been immersed in designing a new gathering called Supportive Spiral.
I want to share about it with you today because:
- I'm deep in designing it so it's what I'm excited about right now :-D
- I'm freely, abundantly offering to host Supportive Spirals in online communities that you lead or that you are a member of. A subversive "Black Friday" invitation as it happens.
The vision is for Supportive Spirals to serve as "roving, spacious and also cozy study spaces" tucked within existing online communities. I'm looking to host Supportive Spirals through 2023. I'm excited to host the first one the day before the Winter Solstice!
Supportive Spiral's vision is to offer space for folks to:
- savor
- revisit
- flow
- reflect
- collect
- support
- receive
- gently focus
- be enough and abundant
- be curious!
framing this week's reflection
It'd wouldn't be a gathering of mine if it wasn't centered in reflection and connection... so let's get into some reflecting alongside the Supportive Spiral's vision
The idea for the Supportive Spiral came from:
- being in partnership with an incredibly supportive accountability partner for several years now – who is also a reader here ~ hey, Marissa!
- developing an approach called UnPD (short for UnProfessional Development) with a super co-creator – who is also a reader here ~ hey, Colton!
- witnessing the lack of 'connective tissue' within much online adult learning and online spaces
Perhaps one reason we're here on this planet in this particular time is to serve as 'connective tissue' for our species?
Or maybe you're here for other reasons.
The more I weave with the realm of belonging, the more I realize this is a big reason I'm here – to notice where there is a lack of connective tissue and to consider how I can be of service in a way that will nurture more connective tissue or strengthen what is already existing.
I invite you to read through the (bold and bolder?) questions I posed on the page dedicated to the Supportive Spiral. Perhaps a question there resonates with you?
Or maybe you're in the mood for a question more to do with this idea of connective tissue? If so, let's flow with these:
What does 'connective tissue' mean to you?
Where do I witness connective tissue lacking or spread too thin?
Where do we witness connective tissue supported and tended to?
How's your connective tissue? Your street's? Your forests'? Your neighborhood's? Your workplace's? Your gym's? The places you and I connect?
Want to share your reflective responses – or add your own reflective questions! – to the questions below?
Scroll back up to the uniquely weekly header image, look right below and click 'View Online'. You'll be transported to this same note online! You can read the rest of the note there, sign in, and leave your comment. 😊
centering being with each other
The desired intention here is to give regular space for sharing ways to be with me, ways to be with Creative Partners of mine, and ways to be with each other.
1. how you can be with me
If you host or are a member of an online community and you think the Supportive Spiral is a match for your community's vibe, let's connect!
You can email me or choose a time that aligns for you on my Calendly calendar. In this present moment I envision hosting these all through 2023 so there's no rush on my end, reach out when you feel called.
2. how you can be with Creative Partners of mine
Diona's recording season 4 of her podcast this month and just shared a sneak preview of an episode with me! The sneak preview is for my ears only 😉 but what I want to share with your ears and eyes is a snippet of her latest episode, which I've been listening to while driving the past few days (I don't drive that much so it takes a few days to make it through a conversation haha).
Diona talked with Ellen Bashor, who I am so grateful to know. Listening to the episode felt like hanging out late into the night at a Prescott College Nature and Place-based Early Childhood Education Summer Institute. Ellen and Sarah (a former Prescott College colleague of Ellen's and another amazing human I'm grateful to know) are the two people who actually lay the groundwork for Diona and me to meet. Ellen and Sarah were leading the Summer Institute when Diona and I first participated in it.
Ellen offers epic levels of support to the field of nature-based education as Education Director for an intergovernmental agreement between Prescott Unified School District and the City of Prescott's Community Nature Center and as an Environmental Education instructor at Prescott College (to name just two of many roles Ellen holds!).
I'm playing with this new-to-me app called Snipd where you can make and share snippets of podcast episodes. Here's four minutes that I enjoyed listening to and you might as well:
Snipd also makes transcripts using AI. You can read it when you click the link but since AI is not as good as a human, I've made a freshened up transcript for you.
3. how we can be with each other
This section is expansively experimental! I envision it as a spot for you, dear human, to share offerings of yours so that fellow members can join in and support you. I also envision this as a spot for sharing current happenings that offer ways for each of us to be with ourselves. I'm not sure what that means yet but shall we find out together?
Perhaps there is an event you are hosting you'd like to invite fellow members to? Or you're in the mood to meet new people and want to introduce yourself to fellow members?
The best way to be included in this section is to reply to this emailed note or email me at cassandra@bewithcassandra.com with the current happening you'd like to invite fellow members to!
(I reserve the right to not include a happening if it doesn't align with Be With Cassandra's unfolding vision or if I receive too many happenings at once. Given what I know about you, I'm thinking the happening you share will align!)
It's been sweet to connect with you in this way today. Thank you for being here with me.
Til next week,
Cassandra