sommerville@aspenrootscollective.com
This “journal entry” style of writing is an evocative glimpse into the post-retreat glow, experienced and written by Jana Eilermann, a participant on the 2024 Very Rugged Renewal in Patagonia.
Pulling the roots of the invasive species that were born of seeds dropped long before your birth, you are rewilding your internal landscape.
On an upper deck, red geraniums in the corners and green canopy at eye level, with sun cascading onto the opposite slope of the canyon, turquoise river far below. Wrapped in a blanket from the most perfect bed where I slept well, held by night sounds that woke me sweetly, yet still brought rest.
Psychedelic green lines ripped out from the bow as the kayaks cut into black stillness under a moonless night. Each dip of the paddle yielded a burst of watery sparks that illuminated the pathways of tiny currents rolling in on themselves, adding motion to the starry bioluminescence. The stars of the Milky Way echoed above, slower in their motions and longer lasting in their explosion of light before their fade into darkness, but swirling just the same.
A theme often emerges in both therapy sessions and workshops: women who feel they aren’t performing to the level that they want and then feeling shame, overwhelm, and ultimately a sense of aloneness in their struggles.
