I must say: I had a great weekend. And the weather and the forest were very kind to us too.

It’s almost 2 weeks ago now since we were in Epping Forest. It was another busy (but distanced!) workshop – 12 of us each day – pretty much full. There certainly is an appetite for many of us – to be out in the woods and to be in the company of others – and I know why, after the year we’ve had so far. That need was met.

…Katye and I have been talking about the ‘and’ for a while now… by the ‘and’ I mean – what happens after those immediate needs have been met? How does what happens in the workshop go beyond the end of the workshop? What about the needs beyond my own? Beyond me and mine and into interpersonal, intercultural, inter-environmental, interspecies needs… I’ve definitely felt it before – the ‘and’ – in the work – but it feels louder these days and it was there in amongst this group (and other groups of course). There were conversations and sharings that spoke towards integration, activism, grief and change. And, more and more, it feels like we can’t leave these subjects off the table any longer.

Aside from the workshops, there are developments afoot. Katye and I are researching ways to expand Kinship Workshop into new places and with different groups. This weekend gave us a lot of food for thought. We’ll keep you posted on the developments.

A lot happens in 2 days, and it goes very quickly too. Thank you to the participants and to Epping Forest for hosting us once again. We’ll be back I’m sure.

Here are some moments from the weekend…