Photo by Levi Verhoef

Carl’s recent surgery has not only challenged our community by keeping Carl from joining us at the lodge sites in ceremony this fall, his surgery has also challenged our ability to support him in the ways we usually do. Conversations have been occurring on both sides of the Atlantic about how we as a family can best support Carl in his time of need.

In North America, Ruth, Billy Turtle Warrior, Natalie Little Crow, Dominik and myself have been having ongoing dialogues about the best ways to do this. How might we appropriately use the potentials of technology,? How do we best honor Carl’s alignment and relationship to gifts from the community? How to keep things simple and easy for those that would like to participate?

-Stefan

Below are messages from Ruth and Billy, and at the bottom of the page you’ll find contacts of individuals in Europe and North America that can help you get a gift to Carl if you’d like to do that, or simply learn more.

Ruth:

We often speak of “the circle”, by which is meant the community we create, based not on hierarchy, but on the simple desire to be together.  Carl says all the time that he does not consider himself special, and he is one of many among us to encourage clear vision of ourselves and one another, uncluttered by the projections which so often bewitch and impede true connection.   But Carl’s role is unique in both the degree of responsibility he assumes to hold ceremonial space and because to do so as a clear instrument fully available to the work, he has foregone formal employment.   He often remarks on how moved he is by our generosity.   He prays that these gifts find their way back to each giver with abundance far beyond what is given him.

Many of you are aware that Carl has been dealing with major health issues, and has just had—ironically, given his name and path—open heart surgery.  This will require several weeks of recuperation and he is unable to travel physically to New York for the Thanksgiving lodge, or to Europe, for the customary Fall gatherings.

Long before this happened, several of us began wondering and talking together about how we would support Carl were he ever unable to pour a customarily held lodge.  We began thinking about this in tandem with awareness of our elders’ aging and our shared basic vulnerability.  (This prompted us to consider how we might support Carl on an ongoing basis, and we will in the future provide a venue to offer information about this to anyone interested.)  Lack of traditional employment means that when he is ill, recovering, or even through the ebb and flow of energy available to us all at different points of our lives, when a lodge cannot be poured, Carl is without the gifts of appreciation we offer. There is no 401K, sick or family leave policy to replace them.

Though we may gather but several times a year, the lodge continues its transformation within us, daily, in perpetuity. Carl’s prayers and tending of the circle are offered throughout the year, regardless of whether we attend a given gathering. By contrast, we live in a culture that trains us to exchange money for service or goods, typically when goods or service are provided.   But for a community supporting its lodge pourer, the impulse to donate need not be narrowly transactional.

You will be hearing more about how, if moved, to offer gifts of appreciation to Carl during this sacred time in his life.   No pressure is intended.  Any amount will be regarded with deep gratitude.

Billy Turtle Warrior:

The way I see it is that this is a test for all concerned with the “family” gig. Seems to me that a “family” takes care of each other no matter what. And if one is going to utilize the word then walk with it. How far are we willing to go to “earn” the word “family”? This is where we find out who has the love and guts to go the extra.

If you are in Europe and would like more information about how to give a gift to Carl, please send an email to the Treasurer of the Holland Big Heart Foundation:

Julia – juliabosboom@hotmail.com

If you are in North America and are looking for ways to gift to Carl or wanting to learn more about supporting Carl in a more ongoing way, please email Ruth or Natalie:

Ruth – ruthkenrick@earthlink.net

Natalie – soulflowergirl@gmail.com