August was a challenging month, and also a very exciting one. The month began with an ending as I left my day job at Talisman centre. I was feeling some fear around this as it means that i no longer have a steady pay cheque, but mostly I felt (and still feel) empowered and excited to embark more deeply than ever into my passions of Permaculture, Art and Energy. I feel so inspired by the people surrounding me that have taken the "leap" to immerse themselves and dedicate themselves to their paths and I only see success in those individuals. I hope to manifest this same success and to date feel extremely supported in the path i have chosen.
Shortly after my last day of work I left for Shambhala, the last festival of this season where I was scheduled to teach a Permaculture seminar. I was really stoked to share at Shambhala. It is such a large festival and I believed that Shambhala needed the Permaculture consciousness as earth care seemed to fall to the side with much of the focus being on the entertainment (which is obviously also very important!). When I arrived at Shambhala, things seemed hectic, but I went with the flow. Within the first 24hrs, so much had happened and I found myself feeling a little disconnected from myself and little too connected to everyone else around. Being an empath, I feel everything from everyone and most often I protect myself from this and use it as a tool when asked to help someone, but for some reason, at the festival, I opened myself up wide. I was feeling so much suffering and self doubt, I started to question why I was there, as it felt that my conference was not supported, none of the conferences were supported as they weren't even placed on the festival schedule and it seemed as though most peoples priority was to party, rather than to connect with the divine. Although I was feeling pretty disempowered by the whole experience, by the time I went to sleep I was filled with the courage to share the Permaculture wisdom. Regardless of the support by the festival, I had the understanding that all this suffering and self doubt I was feeling was the reason I love Permaculture so much and emphasized my desire to share it with others.
During my talk, we built an interactive art piece while discussing how Permaculture ethics and principles can save the world. The feedback from the participants was awesome and I love how much I can learn from my students too! Here is a photo of the piece we created:
All in all Shambhala was a lesson for me about who I once was and who i am now, remembering a message from July, that I can reinvent myself, through my heart in each and every moment. I will never be the person i once was and I don't know where this path will lead, but I do know it is the right one for me, right now in this moment. Permaculture allows my heart to sing to new heights, full of love to the depths of my soul!
After the festival I escaped to the hotsprings with no cell service, it was nice to get away to be with myself and the infinite universe. Here I asked some questions, one of which was, "how do I reach my full potential?" The answer came quickly, that this can be done by connecting with my heart and expressing fully through it. Funny, I think i knew that already, just needed a little reminder. Again, this was just more emphasis to continue in the direction I have chosen, this is where I feel most connected to my heart! Returning home, I remind myself of the importance of love and send myself some love energy. In this moment I recognize that i have been protecting my heart from being hurt by others, and understand that if I continue to do so, I will never reach my full potential. This is when I decide it is time to just open up fully, let go of the fear and let love reign. It is challenging to do this, but i feel deeply that the rewards will outweigh the challenges greatly.
Being back in the community of Calgary has been so great! I have been showered with support of the new farmers market in Inglewood and blessed with well wishes for my Permaculture journey locally and beyond.
One sad thing I came home to, was a hail decimated garden at the AREA. I feel that the death of the gardens reveals an opportunity for rebirth and is a physical symbol of what many of us are going through right now. Letting go of our old selves to allow for the new, to allow for the connecting with all beings and to allow us to connect with our unique creative self expression. Although i dont see our garden coming back to what it was before, I see that what has survived will be better than ever, what we plant new will help cultivate the soil, and next year the garden will be stronger and more resilient than ever! One thing that I really love about the AREA is that it is a constant evolution, always growing, always changing, always renewing. This place shows us what is possible in our lives, whether its by growing food, building resiliency or constantly evolving. It is truly a blessing to be a part of this beautiful space.
I am excited as always to see and experience what is to come in the following month! Some exciting notables will be part 2 of the Visionary Permaculture Course and a couple of awesome Permablitzes (dates to come soon!)
Infinite Love, gratitude and giggles,
Kym Chi
