SUMMERSTIDE FEAST 2024
Photos by Rebecca George Photography
The Invitation
I don’t know about you, but I find myself feeling quite world-weary at the moment. Each news cycle seems to portend a new calamity, missives of violence and war, greed and dishonesty, ever growing political turmoil… and all that crazy weather. I fall asleep at night with a vague sense of unease and wake yearning for something that is both tangible and true. Something beautiful.
Not a superficial beauty, mind you, but one that is real. And what do I mean by this? Here is an example:
I visited nearly a dozen venues these past two months searching for the perfect spot for our next dinner… the one you are about to be invited to. Many of them were lovely. But they were lovely in a manicured, overly-tended sort of way that felt wholly fabricated. What I wanted was a place that spoke of the wildness of nature, of the deep peace and restoration it can offer, of the way it manages to be beautiful of its own accord. A place that feels both substantial and true.
I have found just such a spot. And in the process was reminded of the words a friend’s mother had inscribed above her kitchen door. Life can be beautiful. Even in the midst of the mire. Especially in the midst of the mire. We need only look for it.
I cannot change what is happening in the world around us. I feel, in fact, deeply impotent at my inability to do so. But what I can do is create something beautiful. And somehow, that feels like the creation of something true. Seeking beauty in the midst of chaos is, perhaps, the only way we can remind ourselves of what matters. I suppose it’s the thing that makes it all worth it.
And so, I invite you to join me now on this lofty quest for beauty and truth. I hope it will offer rest and a sense of comfort.
The Experience
We watched the sun set on the edge of the fields at a monastic retreat center. Guests bravely shared beautiful tidbits of poetry and writing from their favorite authors. The food was fresh and nostalgic, a last taste of summer. Around the table, we contemplated the possibility of something wonderful… something fantastical and too good to hope for… but also wholly attainable. We whispered a wish and sent it up into the night. We left under a dense blanket of stars, satiated in soul.
“And so it is that there is something in us all that loves the Beautiful. Wrought in the heart of a beautiful thing is the spirit of Truth itself.”
-Arthur Mee
MIDWINTER SUPPER 2024
The Invitation
Fellow Wonder Clubber Kate Bennis recently relayed an experience she had after the passing of her mother. While rummaging through old boxes of stored belongings, she stumbled across a carboard scrap on which her mother had written, “ANNOUNCE WHAT YOU WANT.” There was no explanation. The words simply stood there. Daring and expectant.
If winter has a theme, perhaps this is it. The darker hours and colder days invite us to retreat, to fold in on ourselves and feel into what surrounds us. Even the cicadas cease their song.
It is a crucial time, a reminder that all of life is an inevitable and repeating march through darkness, back toward the light. That a new year dawns in the midst of this season, on the waning side of the winter solstice, is no coincidence. This re-beginning beckons us to pause along the path and carefully choose the direction we will face.
The invitation for our Midwinter Feast is this: to leave behind the darkness of the year past, that which no longer serves and no longer need accompany, and step toward the light ahead. To choose. To announce (if even in whisper) what it is that you want. These layers of surrender allow us to more fully live within the truth of who we are. To be awake, with wonder and awe, to our own lives. We hope you will join us on this winter night as we capture a bit of magic together.
The Experience
Our dinner contemplation revolved around the seasonal voyage through darkness and back to light. After a delicious dinner by chef Brad Schwing, we ventured into the winter night to walk a candlelit labyrinth in the backyard of the James Monroe House. The sky was studded with stars.
We sipped hot tea and wrapped ourselves in blankets and declared to the universe where we desired our journeys- collectively and individually- to take us in the upcoming year. It was a beautiful night!
