We have a special guest, Kirk Harris, here on my blog all the way from the woods of Breitenbush, where he has been living and working for 6 plus years. He shares his experience of isolation and what that means to him and how he is navigating these strange times we are in. Thanks for being here Kirk!
Greetings from the woods: Life in isolation at Breitenbush
Life at Breitenbush is an experience unlike anything I have had in my life so far. I moved up here in the summer of 2014 and was immediately taken by how much different it was from where I had lived the majority of my life this time around. I primarily lived in a more urban type of environment. I was, and still am, amazed at how quiet and peaceful it can be living in the middle of the forest here in Oregon. To be able to see all the stars at night and the moon shining over the Breitenbush River as it roars along day and night is an amazing experience for the senses. It is one that I have not had the opportunity to enjoy or be mesmerized by before.
Having said that, the last 3 weeks here has been an eye opening, as well as a heart opening, experience as well. Nearly 4 weeks ago we decided to close to the public at what is the beginning of our busiest time of the year and to prepare for being closed for a period of time and we were not sure how long it would be. We were not sure how long we would be closed, if we would be able to open back and if so when that might be. We are still unsure and not exactly clear if and when that might be happening. Needless to say it has brought with it a sense of fear, anxiety and dread over some of us and that was only the beginning of what was to come, and is still coming.
Along with the fear, anxiety and dread of what might happen has also come a vastly different experience for me and some of the other folks who live here and call Breitenbush home and have called the land here home for some years. There are many aspects to this adventure for us here. For me Breitenbush and living and working here comprises 3 areas...The business of running a hot springs retreat center, the community of people here who steward and manage the land and the business and last, but certainly not least, the Land itself.
The circumstances and situations that are playing out lately here and around the world have brought most of the business aspects to a halt...there are no guests here these days which makes for a very quiet place to live and be. Not only people wise but energetically as well...it is a different Breitenbush and experience for sure. It has been an amazing experience to be here without the day to day business obligations of being at work and being of service to the guests...it has been profoundly different to be unplugged from that world and at first was very surreal and I found myself in a kind of shock that I had not experienced before and that has been expressed by others who live here.
This leads me to the second part of the experience here: The community here at Breitenbush. It would not be a surprise to some if the community, when isolated like we have been, physically as well as other ways, might fall apart in some ways. But much to my happiness and joy that has not been the case, in fact I have noticed and witnessed a kind of opposite effect...I have seen and experienced people pulling together instead of apart and this adventure we are all on has strengthened the community in many ways and it has been a joy to see people coming together to volunteer their time and effort to aid and help out the community to remain together. We are still here, still a community and still learning and growing from this experience...it has not been easy and without problems, challenges and other hard times and yet I think this has made all of us look at what is important and what are the priorities in our lives.
This brings me to the last part of the equation that I call Breitenbush. The Land! It has been my experience that I have grown closer to this Land that I fell in love with many years ago, the first time I came here. I have had the opportunity and time these last 3+weeks to see beyond what I had seen before and to dive deeper into what this Land really means, not just to me but to others who live here. It is interesting, and I am very grateful, that this adventure is occurring during spring when all is coming back to life after the winter.
The winters here can be kinda hard and difficult with all the rain, snow and greyness that winter brings with it, so being isolated like this in the winter might be very heavy. With the spring it is as if the Land is coming back to life and and telling us how important it is and how connected we all are and that we all need a breather and a chance to step back from the "busyness" and how it is important to take a deep breath and just be at one with where we are. Sometimes people will tell me "it must be really great to live and work in paradise" and while it is an amazing thing to live and work here...it is still work and there are hard challenges about living and working here.
This is a time for all of us around the world to look at life and where we are at and make decisions about how we want to live and the choices we have the freedom to make in regards to living that life. What are our priorities? What do we want "normal" to be? Do we want to go back to what we thought of as "normal" before this all started? Someone once told me that "normal is a setting on the washing machine". And I have taken that and looked at it recently and had the time to delve into that and dive deep to feel it and what it means. It has brought up a great many questions, thoughts, feelings, and desires about what I would like to see "normal" as in this world.
What do you want "normal" to be?
Kirk Harris has lived and worked at Breitenbush Hot Springs for almost 6 years as a member of the kitchen team. He also teaches Shamanic Journeying as part of the daily well being programs at Breitenbush. Kirk has been in the cooking field for over 25 years and also has been a counselor for over 10 years. Since moving to Breitenbush, Kirk has become more interested and involved in the area of Spiritual explorations and self discovery through many types of spiritual practices based in different schools of thought such as Buddhism, Taoism, Sufism and Shamanism. His interests include reading, writing, hiking, spiritual practices, being close to the natural world and interacting with his fellow cohabitants at Breitenbush...oh yes, and music. Since moving to Breitenbush, Kirk has been learning how to play several musical instruments including Ukulele, Drums, and Native American Flute.
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