Into the Wilderness in the Time of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter
Into the Wilderness in the Time of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter At 5:30 am in the morning on March 16, 2020, my wife and I departed Costa…
When Leaving is About Returning
When Leaving is About Returning A rite of passage, as a friend once said to me, is a process that begins with a death and ends with a birth.…
Men, Soul Work, and Service
Men, Soul Work, and Service Men carry a lot of grief and shame underneath our heroic exteriors. We’re socialized to deny and repress it, and even to criticize other…
Aloneness and Community
Aloneness and Community “The tension between being alone and together is a creative tension. As human beings we balance our longing to belong to one another, or to the…
Rites of Passage Teach Lessons of Life
Rites of Passage Teach Lessons of Life What has it meant, all these years of leading people to the river of wild nature and holding watch for them as…
Fire and (hopefully) Rain
Fire and (hopefully) Rain A year end message from Executive Director Mike Bodkin at Rites of Passage Here we are again, approaching the death of an old year and…
Finding Direction in a Shaken World
Finding Direction in a Shaken World Our world has been profoundly shaken by a series of challenging events this past year. I don’t know about you, but I began…
The Need for Community in Rites of Passage
The Need for Community in Rites of Passage Who of us in our digitalized and remote lives has not wondered about our disappearing sense of connectedness — face to…
Talking with Mother Earth
Talking with Mother Earth Good night, Mountains, you must protect us tonight. We are strangers here but we are good people. We don’t mean harm to anybody. Good night,…
Winter Season
Winter Season Winter has moved into the neighborhood, calling forth my annual response of woodfires, chili made from garden tomatoes and peppers saved in the freezer, and long slow…