21!!!

All my relations

At Vision Quest camp this year I caught the ball at the catching of the ball ceremony.
I caught the ball for all my relations. For everything that is around me. The elements, animals, plants, mother earth, father sky, all the people of the world-
All my relations
May I learn from all my relations, may I help all my relations, may I speak for the truth.

This weekend I went to the bioneers conference in Marin.
I went 6 years ago for the first time. That was back when I was shy and didn't speak up. Remembering Julia Butterfly Hill, who was my role model telling me to say something. And my heart thump thumping, my voice bottled up. THere in the youth tent 6 years ago I saw the powerful youth around me. With passion and courage and I decided I would one day be able to speak my truth. This year I returned as a youth, a bridge, and a citizen of earth and the universe. I was engaged.
I helped host one of the grandmothers from the council of 13 indigenous grandmothers. Her name is Maria Alice and she is from the Amazon. It was wonderful. Of course I was really busy- so busy in fact that it's just now starting to soak in. But it's soaking in and it's nourishing my soul!

What I love about studying architecture is that I begin to experience all sorts of coincidences. Things connect and weave together and I begin to see signs where ever I go. Suddenly I'm the explorer, the detective. What's hidden below the surface emerges and ideas flow as I listen to the call of a place.

It is a spiritual process.

I am currently exploring a site called the Sutro Baths. It is a stunning cove that faces the "Coast of the Sundown Sea" as it was known to native tribes who inhabited the area. Around 1894 a man named Adolph Sutro who would later become mayor of San Francisco built a large structure with various pools for the public of San Francisco. The baths drew people from all over San Francisco to the "Outlands" to enjoy the outdoors. In 1966 after it closed, Sutro Baths burned down. All that remains today are ruins; old concrete skeletons, weathered by the salty air. The Park service now owns the land and they are trying to allow native species to create their habitats there. This beautiful white bird was following me around as I was taking pictures.