“The smallest thing in its rightful place can lead to the highest goals.” -Rudolph Steiner
Happy New Year, Everyone!
We are coming up on the second Friday in January, also known as “Quitters Day,” because it’s the day that most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions. I have to laugh, because a while back, I gave up on resolutions altogether, choosing instead to shift my focus to the concept of intentions.
One of my mentors shared a story about a practice called “water walking.” Water walkers travel the bed of a river on foot, making offerings of gratitude and calling in blessings for the water and its life-giving properties. In 2013, Sharon Day, an Ojibwe leader and activist, led a historic walk along the bed of the Mississippi River. This walk, which stretched over 1,200 miles, began in northern Minnesota, where she collected a jug of water from the tiny stream that is the source of the Mississippi River, and concluded in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Mississippi River flows into the ocean. For 65 days, she lived outside, traveling along the riverbed performing ceremonies and blessings for the river. Her intention, as I understand it, was to raise environmental awareness and deepen spiritual connection with the water. The walk concluded in a ceremony during which Ms. Day poured the water into the ocean in order to remind the river of its origins and purity before encountering pollution.
Like rivers, intentions begin as a tiny stream of awareness trickling out from our hearts and grow as they flow through the currents of our daily lives. Golden Bridges School began with a handful of families and educators committed to creating access to Waldorf education. It now serves over 130 families with children ranging from preschool all the way up to eighth grade. Our common intention is to serve our students educational and personal growth through the Waldorf model.
As we move into this new year, may we take time to walk gently with our intentions, returning often to their source. Intentions require care, attention, and reverence as they shape the landscapes of our lives and communities. When we act with clarity and purpose, even the smallest steps can carry great meaning. May our shared intentions continue to guide us, nourish our work, and flow toward a future rooted in connection, care, and possibility.
