April showers bring May flowers.
On a walk, my husband and I see a sparrow fiercely tugging below the dried leaves.
We stand, awestruck at an ancient dance between earthworm and bird.
The earth is soft. So is worm flesh.
We grasp hands and look laterally, towards our son. “Feather fly away.”
The image of a vessel: an urn, a boat, a heart, has been following me around for weeks. It shows up in conversation with others and in quiet moments alike. I pour myself into my seat and try to imagine what I am carrying. I draw, read poetry, and stare at the baby. Making sense of the shreds.
Like many of you, I am thinking deeply about what processes can help us (individually and collectively) divest from toxic narratives and recast our roles (social and personal).
How can we be with each other in ways that affirm life and open possibilities.
Transformation happens in spaces of confluence, it needs nutrients.
Study: Compost, Wildflowers, Estuaries.
“How does seeing the fullness of who we are and what we carry
create the conditions for learning?”
There is a Portal continues testing the waters of our community pedagogy via new and ongoing collaborations. We are excited for a series of workshops, courses, and content - for and with educators - that make space for deeper connection, storytelling, and transformation .
May 6th (co-organized by the CUNY PhD Program in Urban Education and presented by Transformative Learning in the Humanities) we will offer a 2-hour digital performance and workshop that involves personal reflection, collaborative storytelling, and a chance to imagine and strengthen the roles we play as educators — in and with our communities. (Educators writ large - community educators, arts educators, school teachers, professors, counselors, peer educators, etc.)
Find us on Instagram @ThereisaPortal in the days leading up to the event -- we're offering prompts and self-guided reflections twice a week!
Image by Andrea Negrete
Ultimately, we CAN nourish ourselves by digging below the surface and clearing out whatever has obscured our deepest roots of possibility.
We CAN feed each other through our stories, in supportive spaces where we are able to witness and feel the unknown taking shape.
The ground is being prepared. New networks of belonging are about to blossom. Join us!
// Check back for information on an upcoming educator’s workshop with City Lore and if you’re a Master’s Student at CUNY, I’ll be leading a summer intensive for the Applied Theater Master’s Program using There is a Portal performance as pedagogy to tell stories and plan classroom lessons around migration, dispossession, and radical home-making. //