A staff, chocolate and shards of glass

Here is our closing night question:  

Share an artifact that symbolizes what you want to bring forth from this shelter in place journey -- to help you REMEMBER the wisdom of this time and PARTICIPATE in building a Village of All Together. 

When someone is on a journey, in folktales, myths and history, they often have a talisman or symbol or actual "tool" that helps them move forward and overcome challenges.  I thought it would be powerful to see if there is a tool or symbol from this time to remind us of how we want to walk in our lives, our civic engagement, after shelter in place is lifted.

You don't need to plan in advance -- we can do this together.

What came t​o me immediately was this Bamboo Staff.  I used it once, to walk around the block on a day of fatigue because of balancing the huge need for survival help I was seeing and hearing, and what I was able to do.  I grabbed this bamboo which was made for reaching things, and started to walk. Suddenly I felt transported to my Dad's village in Greece, where the goat herders (like above) also carry a staff.  I thought of Gandalf from Lord of the Rings.   When I walked, I felt more connected to village wisdom, to old ways, and settled into my being for this journey.  It was also a symbol of just taking the next step, which we have done on this journey.  

---

There were 2 other images- artifacts that came to mind.  FIrst, chocolate, since for me it symbolizes self-care, the joy of being with oneself and savoring the moment.  This kept me going many times.  If it's not chocolate, it could be a walk, playing guitar, calling a friend.   

The final image I added was Shards of Glass.  It feels like there is something so broken in how we are living, and I want to remember this brokenness when I get caught up in my daily life.  We can put the vase back together again, we can reconnect, and our work is to bring love, humanity to piece us back together again -- but with a full acknowledgement of how many people are hurt by these shards-  economically, psychically and physically.