Cody’s Column: For the Love of Wisdom
What wisdom does your land hold? How about the people who live there? These are two essential questions that have guided me on a quest to become more connected and explore a realm beyond my own, uncomfortable at times, but filled with adventure. It all started when I began working at the local library a little over a year ago. I had just finished a stint on an organic apple orchard, picking apples, juicing them, and bottling the juice on site. Before that, I had worked on my own farm, during which I experienced a manic episode that nearly separated me from reality and all that I love.
The library had been a welcome refuge for us when we first arrived in our tiny upriver community. Despite being small, they were a safe space for us to explore and get acquainted with our new surroundings. We checked out books on homesteading, local history, books for pleasure and books for purpose. My kids attended events there and grew connected to the staff, the first friendly faces of our new community. I felt at home for the first time in a long time in this mountain town along a magic river with so much forest to explore. I never thought that I would be working this close to the heart of my community.
When I started at the library, I began thinking about being connected to my community more. A local patron who often came in and I had pleasant conversations with mentioned being interested in a philosophy group. Another patron said the same thing, then another. My friend and the landowner whose farm we share mentioned that there used to be a group that met and discussed philosophy in the local community. They disbanded before Covid, becoming a bit divided politically. I wanted to be part of a group that could move beyond politics and division, a collective that could explore the depths of wisdom. For the Love of Wisdom was born in the cool rainy month of October, nearly a year ago now.
We started by asking what is wisdom? How does wisdom apply to you in everyday life? How do you see wisdom playing a role in your local community? I gathered all the books I could find in the library on wisdom topics from as many different sources as possible. We shared our thoughts and vision for where the group was headed, and I got to work organizing speakers to cover the topics the group was interested in. Several members in the group were confident enough to present on topics they were interested in. Aveda Vedanta philosophy, Blackfoot community raising, Taoism, Runes, Ancient Goddess Religions, and Grief. We reached out to our larger community and brought in speakers to share about the philosophy of Max Stiner, a message about connection from the Matrix movies, the wisdom of being prepared in case of natural disaster, and the wisdom of the Upper Skagit Tribe.
We acknowledge the indigenous land we meet on, pass around a talking stick, agree to a social contract that binds us to listening with empathy and understanding, ask questions, and usually stay after to mingle and share our connections. Now that we are coming up on one year meeting together, we are considering having meals together and inviting the larger community to join to have conversations about what makes each of us human.
In a time where ideologies seem to divide, For the Love of Wisdom is a group that brings back listening. We are a diverse group of people, and if anyone should come to us for advice, they would receive a diverse group of answers, but they would always feel like they have been listened to. That is the edge that this group brings to our community.
As a Pagan, being involved in my community involves a commitment to listening. The voices I have heard have profoundly changed my path, and the connections I have formed help me to continue this work of bringing people together to listen. It may be small, but it is beautiful in my eyes.
My encouragement to you is to reach out to your local library and ask them if such a group already exists. If not, I highly recommend that you seek other community members that could help you form the foundation of a group of people who can come together and listen, share their wisdom, and seek out the voices of others in your community. We have a social contract that I share with all those who attend, agreeing that we will listen with empathy and understanding to each other, monitor our air time, and respect the space we occupy.
Your local Indigenous People deserve to share their history to a group of people who will listen and seek to form equitable relationships. We have learned so much as a group from our Upper Skagit friends, about life ways, resilience, difficult history, and the importance of telling our story. Start here, with the wisdom of the people who lived with the land for millennia. They have something to offer that will take a lifetime to understand but will reveal in a heartbeat that we are all connected.
Support your local libraries and find out what programs they offer. Don’t be shy about requesting books that connect with your story. Frequent this space and be willing to connect with your community in one of the few remaining sacred spaces we can gather together from all walks of life and just listen. Then, walk into the forest and see how the trees have been teaching us how to connect all along.
As we move into a new season and begin to observe the beauty of letting go, I will reflect on my experiences with Cernunnos and the Druid Craft Tarot Deck to bring you a timely message next month. Until then, breathe in the cooler air and find what brings you deep calm.
I am a husband, father, farmer, and friend. I live on the banks of the Magic Skagit River, ancestral lands of the Sauk-Suiattle people. I practice rune reading, tarot, land magic, and work with many spirit guides. My life began Pagan but I veered off into the Christian church in college. I found my way back to my Pagan and ancestral roots in 2005 and have journeyed along this path since then.
