Beginning Again

by Diane Pfahler

Even though I haven’t been involved in classroom teaching for 20 years now, there’s something about late August/early September that makes me want to begin again. The thought of freshly-pressed pleated plaid skirts, new pencil boxes and notebooks, new “school” shoes serves as a reminder that all that was once old is new again. For me, it is a better time than New Year’s for looking at resolutions and challenging myself. It could be the teacher in me that runs on a school calendar.

I have a hunch that for all of us there is a certain nostalgia for that “first day.” Never completely satisfied with the status quo, we stretch toward what can be. Elizabeth Johnson puts it this way, “From the beginning the possibility of becoming ‘more’ is written into creation.”

Here at The Well, we’ve been busy preparing the new program booklet for the fall semester and have some intriguing new offerings in addition to some of our popular standbys.

• We offered Healing Gong last spring as a trial and it was enthusiastically embraced by the 30- some attendees. It’s been added to each month’s offerings this fall.
• We had a Shake Your Soul option during one of the breaks at the Summer Institute and it too was well-received. We’ll have monthly sessions from September to December.
• We have several painting options this fall: a day-long session with Sr. Frankie Dutil; a continuing series of sessions with Sr. Pat Willems; and a fall Come and Paint Retreat with Sr. Mary Southard. If you’ve ever considered making a Come and Paint Retreat, now may be the time since, because of construction, we won’t be having overnight accommodations for longer retreats until 2018.
• Carol Hohle (our design & marketing consultant) will be offering an eco-spirituality practice group on three Mondays called Ready-Set-Eco! Carol’s energy and enthusiasm may well be the spark you need to make your earth-concerns practical.
• Another series called Living with Eyes Wide Open: Exploring Themes through Writing, Meditation, Dance and Art will be facilitated by our talented Bridget Sperduto and Carol Cummins. Sounds like sessions for the adventurous and searching!
• Ann Letourneau, CSJ has recently returned to the Chicago area and will be offering a series on Mindfulness in Daily Life and an evening on Dreams as a Spiritual Practice.
• In November we host Carter Phipps, co-founder of the Institute for Cultural Evolution, who will be with us for a day, challenging us to live as who we really are: “Evolutionaries.”
• Barbara Mahany is returning, as are Pat Bombard, Char Dillon, Grace Wolf-Chase, Edna Groves, Avis Clendenen, and Pat Bergen.

As you can see, if you are looking for something to call you beyond where you are, The Well can help you with that! Welcome!