WHEN ONE TREE FALLS

     A huge hackberry tree in our backyard was blown over by Hurricane Harvey, exactly a year ago this week. We're very fortunate that it missed our living room by just a few feet, but we definitely miss the cooling shade it cast on the house. It also provided a lovely curtain of greenery right outside the double glass doors of our upstairs bedroom, giving us the illusion of waking up in a tree house every morning. So, it's loss created a big vacuum in the backyard -- or so it seemed at the time.

 OTHER TREES THRIVE

     But in the intervening months, the small anaqua tree that had been growing very slowly as understory beneath the hackberry underwent a sudden growth support, adding 30% to its height - as did the small, red oak tree that had been slowly inching upward in the shade on the east side of the hackberry. And the large stump itself keeps sprouting shoots, despite being cut back every time we mow the grass, in addition to the dozens of tiny hackberry trees that keep popping up all around that newly-opened area of the yard.

     In short, the vacuum created by that one tree has created space for multiple others to thrive. The old adage says, "When one door closes, another one opens" - but in this case, I'm invited to see that "When one tree falls, other trees have an opportunity to thrive."

 NEW OPPORTUNITIES

     That certainly was true last year, when we cancelled our Sunday Circle due to Hurricane Harvey, and wound up doing our first-ever Facebook Live video, which drew over 300 viewers and initiated our weekly live on-line broadcast, it was something I had been resisting for years, and has proved to be very popular.

     NEW SPACES

     Similarly, when I first heard a few months ago that the SAY Sí building where the Circle meets on Sundays was being sold, it felt like there would be a gaping hole in the Circle's future. Oh, no! Move out of this beautiful gallery space??? But before I had a chance to get bummed out, the executive director of SAY Sí invited the Circle to make the move with them to their brand new, much larger space. He also explained that the new location would include a magnificent meeting space, with excellent acoustics and sight lines designed specifically for gatherings like ours (unlike our current space, which was designed primarily as an art gallery, with difficult acoustics and visual elements that we wrestle with every Sunday).

     I am not at liberty to disclose the new location yet (though it will probably be made public soon), and it will be at least two years before the new space is fully renovated and the move is made, but it sure is exciting to think of the possibilities!

 NEW VIEWS

     Knowing this also made it a little easier when the general manager of the Bijou Theater informed us this week that their construction/renovation project is behind schedule, so our 15th Annual Sacred Art of Altars exhibit will have to be postponed until at least October. He was very apologetic, and promised that ours would be the very first exhibit, once construction is finished. Yet again, it seemed like a bummer when we first heard the news, until we realized that whenever our show does finally open, we will undoubtedly benefit from the splash of press attention, public awareness and fresh energy surrounding the newly remodeled space. Hmmm... on further reflection, I'm pretty sure that "When one tree falls, other trees thrive." At least, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

With gratitude and blessings,

     Rudi Harst

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.