We started as a disparate group of people seeking to connect to and protect nature, coming from the broad expanse of North America to join the communities of Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. Our theme for the four-day walking pilgrimage was “Transformational Parrot Conservation.” I didn't know how we might be changed, but that we would be.
Approaching the island of Ometepe, we each arrived under the storm clouds of a world full of woe, but as the pilgrimage progressed, those clouds lifted.
My hope was that we would see that as we walked in beauty with vistas full of flying parrots and towering volcanoes, we would more deeply affirm that beauty never leaves us alone in this world. We would become more resilient and aware of the inherent tragedies of life on this planet. This and so much more happened. We left as a family, each wiser and more whole.
It wasn't all serious, we also had a lot of fun!
Let me offer you now the words of those along the way who gave us wisdom and hope:
A farmer who joined us for conversation as we passed his ranch: “We are all part of nature. We just come from different places.”
“I never felt so much love. It was magic.”
“It felt like coming home to a known family, a family that cares.”
“I go home empowered.”
“I want a sustainable level of suffering.”
“Everyone found a place where they were comfortable, and if help was needed, it was there.”
“When I saw the wild parrot in the tree, I never knew such beauty and love. I am committed to these species, for as in these words from The Little Prince, “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” (This saying is preceded by, in the same book, these words, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”)
Along the way we chanted, “Sí se puede, sí se puede, loros vuelen libres.”
Then as we ended where we began, coming full circle, the chant shifted to
Sí se puede, sí se puede, loros vuelen libres.
Sí se pudo y se podrá los loros libres volar
Yes, you can, yes you can, parrots fly free.
Yes, it was possible and it will be possible for parrots to fly free.
For my closing words, I added..."Seeing how you all love and walk in beauty, helps me love more and to envision what the heart can see rightly. I don’t know how to get there from here exactly but knowing that it was possible for four days affirms that will be possible for us all to fly free."
If you'd like the chance to soar on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, join us from December 13-17, 2024. We will also be leading another pilgrimage in Guatemala in 2024.
Though the days are long and hard, there is always the chance to be refreshed with purpose.