I have a dream of bringing dead rivers back to life.
Those among us who are ready to devote our lives to regenerating the Earth must dare to dream beyond what feels possible today. On May 21st, two friends and I will embark upon a sacred journey to feel what it means to regenerate the Colorado River Basin.
Is this a crazy thing to do? Not by a long shot. The human world has gone insane and this feels healthier than sitting in the dysfunction all around us. We will start by visiting the major headwaters along the western slopes of the Rockies — gathering gift offerings from the mountains that we will carry with us to the Sea of Cortez.
Along the way, we will carry the mission of the Design School for Regenerating Earth founded by the three of us — giving free talks and offering council to all who invite us into their communities. We will carry the hopes, fears, pain and tears of people who love the landscapes of the Colorado Basin as offerings to the ocean that receives so much pain and neglect from the human presence upstream.
The Sacred Headwaters of the Colorado River in the Rocky Mountains
Earlier this year, we went on a “bioregional activation” tour of the Great Lakes — giving talks about holistic landscape regeneration in the Greater Toronto Area; Binghamton, Ithaca, and Rochester in New York; and Cleveland along the southern shore of Lake Erie. It was so powerful to speak directly for the Earth about what it would take to regenerate the entire Great Lakes Region.
Now we are ready for the next wave of awakenings. If you live within the Colorado Basin, please invite us to pass through your community. In the spirit of the gift, we will come and hold council with you. Ask us to give a talk, sit in a circle with concerned citizens, or offer a teach-in about what it would take to regenerate the entire Colorado River.
Our hope is that the seed of this dream takes root in the soils of your hearts. Everywhere we go, we will gather local stories as blessings to be poured into the Sea of Cortez. This is spiritual activism. It is time for the humans who feel as the Earth to begin gathering our strength for what is coming in the next few decades.
Joe Brewer is co-founder of the Design School for Regenerating Earth and author of The Design Pathway for Regenerating Earth. He will be accompanied by Penny Heiple and Benji Ross on this sacred journey in service to the Colorado Basin.
