more, less brief reflections from the on being gathering

21 Feb 2018

a few, longer, more detailed reflections from my time at the on being gathering.

on learning tai chi

on the way into the tai chi class on the first day, chris and i met each other in a funny way. he was walking with steven (stephen?) and they stumbled upon me and asked where they were. when i said the building was outlook and that i was going to tai chi, chris said he had always wanted to learn tai chi. i said i did, too. and he announced that he was coming with me. it was a pretty funny moment.

but then on the way up the stairs, one of us mentioned that we had a tai chi book on our bedside table. and then the other one said “me too!” can’t remember who said it first, but it was a really great moment. to both do our first tai chi sessions together that day was excellent. probably one of those moments i’ll never forget, you know? i should send him a photo of my book on my nightstand…

the whiteness of 1440 multiversity

i had a conversation with the marketing director with a guy i met at lunch named andy. we were just trying to get some sun on the backside of the main building (redwood) and we ended up chatting her up. someone how the conversation got to them wanting to do more to have “different types of workshops for different types of people” in the space. and yet even in the description, the director said “mostly wealthy, mostly older people.” i had to to insert “and pretty white, too” and she nodded but didn’t say it back. clearly uncomfortable.

in the end, we had a good conversation about 2for1 payment models and how to get young people in the space and more. i mentioned how my lyft driver on the first night was the brother of someone who had attended bethany, the dwindling college that 1440 bought out before turning it into the aeshetically beautiful retreat center that it is today. and i explained how i wanted to know more about the history because clearly there was a story there. and honestly i think the story must have some beauty (as krista said from the stage one day, “this land was most recently inhabited by people who have infused it with thousands of hours of prayer”) as well as some ugliness.

there was a moment where america ferrera interrupted something krista was saying to acknowledge the limited acknowledgement of the history of the land the center was one. and she was right to do that. and yet, even she referred to indigenous people as if they were a thing of the past. and yet, lewis _ was on stage in the room. he shared that the original people of that land had lost the last speaker of their language in 1935. but there are still native people all around. i learned from neftali (sp?) that there is no reason to not be connected with indigenous people in the area. they are here and real and this land is still stolen.

when i tried to ask about the history of the land from the marketing director, the history for her began when the current owners (scott and joani?) bought the land from the college.

standard: amnesia. whiteness at work. the story starts with your part of it.

andy and i have her our email addresses and i hope i have the chance reach out to her.

need to end here and go shower before jury duty!

whirlpool trio and the question

on the lack of queer elders

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