On April 22nd, The Lily Pond hosted a small gathering of individuals to celebrate the beauty and bounty of the Earth and to offer blessings to the planet and all sentient beings.
The day included yoga, the collaborative creation of a 4-foot flower mandala on the land, a bouquet of remembrance, kirtan group song, and a vegetarian farm-to-table lunch and dinner.
The flower mandala was a beautiful sight to behold, radiating the gratitude and blessings exchanged throughout the day. Participants focused on putting the energy of harmony and cooperation into the land as we selected multi-colored petals, blossoms, leaves, pine cones, and crystals for the mandala. The eucalyptus leaves shimmered as they caught the sunlight while waving in the breeze. Everyone had a chance to tour the sanctuary and meet our 23 super-awesome rescue animals before we sat down to a celebratory feast with live jazz music. We concluded the day with each person lighting and floating wish lanterns on the pond at sunset. Magic was happening here as we welcomed spring and individually focused on manifesting our hopes and dreams.
We’re so grateful to all who participated in the Earth Day celebration and made it such a special day. A big round of applause to Lorna McMurray, Gretchen Behr-Svendson, and Ollie Westfall for volunteering to help with pre- and post event organization. How delighted we were with the culinary genius of caterers Lori Stern and Alex Roberts, who designed the tasty menu based on the seasonal produce available from local surrounding organic farms.
We were even lucky enough to have some of the very people responsible for growing the produce in attendance at dinner! Our gratitude to instructor Zoey Wagner for helping us kick off the event with balancing, heart-centered yoga. And finally, very special thanks to Lorna McMurray for her beautiful singing and co-leadership of the day’s activities.
