one + one = magic

Greetings from Asbury Park!

Last night I saw Springsteen in Buffalo with my sweetheart. It was my first show and his ninety-fifth "if you count seeing Bruce on Broadway," which I do.

I can't recall the first time I heard Bruce on the radio, but John can recite the exact moment back in 1973 when his brother beckoned him into his room, dropped a needle on the record, and said, "you've got to hear this," or about his first concert in August 1978–when he slipped out of the house, borrowed his parent's car, and drove to Cleveland by himself. John was seventeen years old.

Spirit in the Night

Of course, I was fully prepped for the evening with concert footage and bootlegs. Still, it was nothing I could have imagined because it was the experience of being there. It was the moment of witnessing sound become song—the moment of being held so completely in the music and the gaze of the man you love.

My love will not let you down.

In the world according to Bruce:

The primary math of the real world is one and one equals two. The layman (as often I) swings that every day. He goes to the job, does his work, pays his bills and comes home. One plus one equals two. It keeps the world spinning. But artists, musicians, con men, poets, mystics and such are paid to turn that math on its head, to rub two sticks together and bring forth fire. Everybody performs this alchemy somewhere in their Life, but it's hard to hold on to and easy to forget. People don't come to rock shows to learn something. They come to be reminded of something they already know and feel deep down in their gut. That when the world is at its best, when we are at our best, when Life feels fullest, one and one equals three. 

When something speaks so strongly to your soul, you are wise to listen.

Bruce is John's Monhegan. It's the music that has saved him repeatedly; it's why he always returns. He may not know the setlist, but it doesn't matter– it will be precisely what he needs to hear. But he has to be there to listen.

Monhegan is my Bruce Springsteen. It's where I return year after year. It's where my Life seemingly fell apart or at least made visible what I needed to see. To be lost and found. Monhegan is my rock (and roll).

And it's one of the reasons I began facilitating retreats: to share the island, to encourage others to find their gold.

Because what happens when you hike the headlands or search for sea glass, when you awake with birdsong or sleep beneath the stars, is unimaginable. And it's an experience that only happens by being there. 

Monhegan magic.

So often people tell me they really want to come on retreat, "but not now."

It's not the right time (insert reason).

Hopefully, next year.

I'll be honest when I say due to certain shiftings in my Life, I can't promise there will be a next year, but there is this moment. This opportunity. This spectacular now.

There are a few spaces left on both retreats, and in honor of my first concert, I'm offering a promotion:

Register for the retreat before midnight Sunday, March 26, and receive $75 off your registration fee.

Life should not be lived as elegy.

I was reminded of that when Bruce introduced Last Man Standing  with an offering in the form of a eulogy to his friend George Theiss, member of his first band, The Castilles, reminding the audience of the importance of listening to your heart and passions, and of making every moment count.

I’m so grateful that I was in the audience, sharing the moment with the man who completes me—because Life is short, and every moment matters.

Because the night belongs to love.

So what are you waiting for?

thanks for reading ~

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two retreats • always on island

When Women Were Birds: solstice, story, sea

June 18 - June 22, 2023

When Women Were Birds: murmuration, memoir, meditation

September 22 - 26, 2023

Monhegan, ME

This retreat is an invitation and an embodied book group: journeying and journaling through the words of Terry Tempest Williams's poetic memoir When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice with the many seasons of the sea. It is for anyone who longs to learn or return to the practices of writing and meditation to discover our stories through silence and speech.

all the details • 2022 retreat highlights here

I felt like the bright, salty sunshine and air of Monhegan scrubbed the corners of my soul, and I saw all the cracks and creases and also cleaned the gunk that needed to be moved. It was a deeply satisfying and nourishing experience. I feel like my personal bucket as a woman, mom, midwife, and human became filled to the brim with trust that we can have hard times and find meaningful ways to re-visit reintegrate into ourselves when the opportunity presents itself ~ Elsa, Philadelphia, PA, 2021 + 2022 retreater

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