After much of a month spent in Colorado and Utah at the end of this summer, I returned home to Asheville only to find myself yearning for the big mountains and the aridity of the West. This longing is not new to me. Every so often my love of the geography of the western states comes crashing in, and I wonder why I am digging my roots into the wet soil of the Southeast.
Read More2016 has started off with a bang at Aspen Roots Collective! We have a beautiful location secured for our Spring retreat, a new Hiking Club being offered for those in the Asheville area, and some truly exciting developments for our international offerings. I invite you to continue reading for more details and, as always, to contact me with questions, ideas for individualized retreats for you and your friends, family, or colleagues, or just to be in touch.
Wishing you an adventure filled February,
Sommerville
Read MoreSix women gathered in the crisp sunlit mountain air near Cashiers, NC for a day of connection, reflection, and intention setting for the upcoming Winter. Each participant brought with her her own wisdom and particpated fully in the experience. Below are images and readings captured from the day.
Discussing the significance of Winter from various cultural perspectives
Sharing a warm meal and heating ourselves internally
Soaking in the sun
Ridgeline views
Mindfulness walk along the lake
A treat at day's end
Many many laughs
We have so much gratitude for the women who showed up so fully to this day long retreat. Thank you for not only doing this for yourself, but also for giving the gift of your wisdom, awareness, and journey to each one of us. We look forward to the next opportunity to mark the transition of seasons.
If I could I would
Go down to winter with the drowsy she-bear,
Crawl with her under the hillside
And lie with her, cradled. Like two souls
In a patchwork bed –
Two old sisters familiar to each other
As cups in a cupboard –
We would burrow into the yellow leaves
To shut out the sounds of the winter wind.
Deep in that place, among the roots
Of sumac, oak, and wintergreen,
We would remember the freedoms of summer,
And we would begin to breather together –
Hesitant as singers in the wings –
A shy music,
Oh! a very soft song.
While pines cracked in the snow above,
And seeds froze in the ground, and rivers carried
A dark roof in their many blue arms,
We would sleep and dream.
We would wake and tell
How we longed for the spring.
Smiles on our faces, limbs around each other,
We would turn and turn
Until we heard our lips in unison sighing
The family name.
-Mary Oliver
Aspen Roots Collective has been a project in the making for many years. The idea for such a business has roots that reach back as far as childhood memories will go. Canoeing through a star-lit night in the Boundary Waters with my family; paddling the New River Gorge with a band of camp sisters...
Read More
