We live a border life on the boundary of nourishment from wilderness and that of civilization, cultivating the essential nature of Spirit.

In 2015, we decided to leave urban Kansas City and move to a remote village in the North Cascades. This was not just any village, but the most distant and remote village we could imagine at the time. This was a place of aging glaciers and tumbling icy creeks. It was a place where the local wildlife population outnumbered the humans. The first people to inhabit that wilderness valley were the tribes of the Wenatchi, the Entiat, and the Chelan. That same wilderness became a place of wild wonder that sparked our imagination, played on our senses, inspired our spiritual lives, and influenced our art.

There is wonder in the smell of a campfire across a mountain lake; an encounter with a black bear sharing a common trail; the hoot of a great horned owl that breaks the silence of deep snow or in the destructive power of a forest fire that both consumes and resurrects at once. We came to view this wonder-filled wilderness landscape as the original sacred text.

Creating art may be the most universal, effective, and beautiful way to communicate our story and give meaning to our lives. Art can travel beyond language barriers; beyond our cultural differences and the boundaries we construct as humans. Art can convey messages between and among individuals and through time. Through our art, no matter the medium, we get to present our inner world outward. We remove the boundaries of separation and participate in the great remembering of what we came into life knowing: There is no separation. We are one with all of creation.

We engage in spiritual and creative life explorations that begin and end in wonder. However obscured, muted, or elusive wholeness may be in today’s world, it is present, and glimpses of it evoke wonder. John Philip Newell says, “We and all people, we and those who have gone before us, we and all creatures, we and the universe are traveling together in one river of life.”

It's not unusual for science to catch up to art, eventually. It’s also not unusual for art to catch up to the spiritual. We wonder what aspects of wholeness may be revealed as we engage at the boundaries of tension. We no longer fear the doubting questions. We carry each other within us. And the universe carries us within itself. By exploring the boundaries of our connectedness, we may even stumble upon truth. 

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Lagom

(pronounced log-ohm)
is a Swedish and Norwegian word meaning just the right amount, not too little, not too much — a state of mind in which whatever you have is the perfect amount. Lagom also encompasses environmental sustainability — taking only what’s needed from the earth, not more—minimizing waste and embracing foods in season. And it’s about being moderate and mindful in daily life. This requires taking what you need but leaving enough for others to be happy.