Dearest Friends,
I remember assuming, before I joined the Feathered Pipe board in 2011, what a quiet and slow time it must be for everyone in the off-season. I had a naïve notion that while the Ranch was blanketed in snow, gathering its mojo ahead of bursting open with new life ahead of the summer season, there was an extended lull. A stretch of
pleasant down time for the staff and board.
I did not appreciate, then, that while the Ranch is hibernating in the deep freeze of a Montana winter, that autumn, winter, and spring were anything but un-busy for the team that makes each summer’s magic possible.
Reviewing all the previous season’s feedback and prioritizing action items, the epic cat-herding that has to happen to weave the complex tapestry of the following season’s program lineup, winterizing the Ranch, fundraising letters and calls, white-knuckling through winter cashflow challenges, budget reviews, strategic financial planning, tedious website improvements and bug fixes, social media navigation and tending, taxes and insurance paperwork, retreat writeups, and
and and. Those are only the visible tip of the deep, off-season busy-ness iceberg.
Some lull.
 The truth is that there have been a few moments over the past eight years when I’ve pined for the days that I was ‘only’ a guest at the Ranch each summer. When there was no need for a passing thought to the many moving and overlapping parts of the
behind-the-scenes machinery that has to revolve in nonstop, continuous synchrony. All this happens with a small group of core staff, shored up and supported by a dedicated and essential cadre of volunteer helpers. None of these folks are “incentivized” by the conventional motivations that the brochures tell us keeps people persuaded to continue, like some big financial payday or a burst of ego-reinforcing public acclaim.
Their satisfaction derives, instead, from seeing their work offer good-intentioned souls opportunity to experience an inner transformation that makes the world better.
Period.
The truth is this. In my limited life experience, there aren’t a lot of areas in life where the cosmic tumblers fall into place for the sake of such a noble purpose. Where an eclectic group of people from heterogeneous age groups, backgrounds, life experience, and geography — all motivated by doing what’s healthy for humanity — bust their butts year-round for the sake of raising our collective capacity for
goodness.
As I write this, everyone’s tending to the finishing touches on our upcoming 2019 season. And we’re also planning ahead to the celebration of our 45th anniversary in 2020. As word spreads among our teachers, guest alumni, and the small cadre of enthusiastic (and vital!) volunteer helpers that we are moving toward that milestone, we are awed by the ongoing support for
what we’re up to. We love the stream of creative ideas everyone’s sharing about how we might honor and celebrate it.
One of my teachers says that if we want to see the evidence of love, we have to be the evidence of love. And in the sometimes barely-contained frenzy of off-season scrambling to do what’s needed to ensure that Feathered Pipe is here for years, and hopefully generations, to come, I see ample evidence of love in the busy-ness.
As we move through arduous times, inundated with news about fierce inhumanity and dizzying tribalism, the very fact that there is a Feathered Pipe is legitimate reason for optimism. On behalf of everyone working behind the scenes, please accept our thanks for giving us opportunities every (crazy!) winter to witness the refresh of the miracle that is Feathered Pipe.
We are grateful for the busy-ness that your love gives to our world.
With deep affection and love,
Anne Jablonski
President, Feathered Pipe Foundation
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Not My Chicken: Reclaiming Your Power – Carie Garrett
Back in 2009, I began a life-changing addition to my yoga journey: 12-step recovery from co-dependency. Over these past 10 years I have learned to empower myself from within, instead of looking outward to others to provide my worth and my truth. I’ve learned how to own my voice and my opinions, especially when they differ from others’ voices and opinions. Most importantly, I’ve learned what boundaries are and how to set
them.
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J Brown "Yoga Talks" Podcast: Freedom, Agency, and the Mindful Unplug
Anne Jablonski, president of the Feathered Pipe Foundation, shares with J her love of Freedom Style Yoga and the magic that is the Feathered Pipe Ranch. They discuss Anne’s relationship to the teachings of Erich Schiffmann, what makes the ranch so special, teaching people to develop their own intuitive knowing vs telling them what to do, mindfully unplugging as an essential form of self-care, and the importance of connection and
friendship in fostering the spirit of healing and good will.
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Contact Us |
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Feathered Pipe Foundation
P.O. Box 1682
Helena, MT 59624
(406) 442-8196
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