HORIZONS EYE @23 | 017🥏
scoping down infinity to a single branching path - what world do your eyes see?
this post is brought to you by the love and generosity of Jane Reusche, Alick Verney, Randall Stratton, Don and Janie Stone, Kerry and Gregg Stone, and Sandy and Suzanne Renna.
it’s august 10th, 2023 — and i want to offer you my eyes.
two weeks ago, I turned 23. i’ve been reflecting on the past year of life, and where my path is turning.
for the first time, no steps are laid out — but a vision is emerging.
it does not emerge through me alone. far from it — the past year has shown me that our vision, or perception of reality, is a process composed by generations of history, remodeled every single time you connect with a person and gain a glimpse into their heart.
“Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.” — Uncle Jim, quoting Albert Szent-Györgyi (on my birthday card)
no matter where we stand in life, we see something different on the Horizon.
but when we see with not only our own eyes but the eyes of dozens — people from all generations, all backgrounds, and all walks of life — we locate ourselves somewhere between all that is real and all that is possible.
one’s model is never complete, of course. however, it seems accurate to say we are actively co-creating our models of the universe, and this makes us players on the same team, playing the same game.
my proposition is that if we take this premise seriously and begin relating to each other with more intentionality and grace, we will allow for an upswelling of possibility to emerge through us, and many seemingly magical things will click into place.
this is fundamentally a process of dialogue and synthesis, with three basic steps:
observing your life with absolute honesty, compassion, and humility
listening to the lives of others with absolute respect and curiosity
playing, dancing, embracing the present together — letting rise the magic between us
what follows, then, is my contribution to the first stage of this discourse. by reading, you are engaging in the second and third stages.
if you want to engage even further, the bottom of this artifact will reveal how you can relate to the branches of the emerging vision, and help it come to fruition.
to begin, we’ll first orient ourselves around where I stand in the present.
Where am I now?
As a 22-year-old, I graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in International Relations, taught ESOL for the first time at NMH Summer Session, worked on the beautiful, organic farm of Spannocchia, Italy for 3 months; earned my CELTA certificate for teaching English, and travelled to Kobe, Japan.
I lived alone in a foreign city for the first time, made friends, found a farm in Nara through Workaway, and lived for one month as a monk at Sogenji, a Zen monastery in Okayama; where I experienced the most beautiful & clear headspace of my life, as well as the most profound sense of purpose in the simplest form of living.
I returned home, gardened with my cousin, and connected with family & friends before returning to teach at NMH Summer Session for the second time.
it was a wildly intense and rewarding summer.
on day two, I was promoted to lead teacher and given my own ESOL classroom with zero time to prepare. with only six students and three weeks, it was a rapid and challenging affair.
at the same time, I was piloting the new outdoor education “LEAD” program alongside another intern, and serving as a residential mentor to 60+ middle school aged children, the vast majority from China.
now — for the first time in my life — i am free, with no concrete plans set into motion. i’ve felt fear and anxiety as i’ve come into contact with this unknown chapter of life, but faith and conversations with friends are starting to yield clarity.
I know where I am, and I know (broadly) where I am heading.
so, this is the vision on my horizons as I turn the corner of 23:
2023+ Vision: Years of Collaborative Building
frankly, it’s an alarming time to be alive, especially as a young person. as climate change and AI will be life-long companions, we need to start embracing what this really means.
for me, that means developing my capacity to build, to grow food, to regenerate the soil, to communicate with others, to heal, to strengthen my body, to bridge divides, fight for justice, and to teach and learn continuously.
i have a long way to go on all these frontiers, and the possibility Horizon of now stretches well into Infinity, so i’m scoping these values down into a few, branching paths.
on the Horizon of my dreams, I see a team working simultaneously to build 3-5 things:
a world-class language-learning & fabrication program: composed of permaculture, carpentry, welding, and human movement training such as Ultimate, dance, chi Gon, and yoga. each medium / method acts as a direct layer of skill acquisition and contact hours with new languages in context. the curriculum could include building innovative play structures, public gardens, housing, and other permaculture projects. this process will be complimented by a classroom experience focused on Alçentian storytelling, a relational writing practice that helps people visualize their tree of self and play the Ultimate game in real life, building the future of each relationship with intention and grace.
the best video game for Life in the world: Imagine a game that wove the people in your life into a magical, unfolding Quest. a game made to structure repeated, playful, heartfelt interactions through the lens of discovery, much like DnD. a game meant to visualize and guide relationships across decades of time, where players act as co-creators of the universe, and together unfold the magical mystery of us.
TECHNORANCH - a commune or permaculture/education center of some form; where we might live together and build a radically resilient home of abundance and empowerment.
these projects constitute hundreds of hours of focused energy and the commitment of dozens of participants. right now, these are just seeds - blurry images on the Horizon, asking to be drawn forth into sharp clarity.
the common goal of each project is simple: to unite people in building a just and regenerative future that allows for all life to flourish.
the concrete focus is to produce cohorts of young people with the skills, connections, and confidence to carry out this work, wherever they may go.
How will we build together?
none of these projects are the work of one man, nor am i capable of executing them today.
as such, i’m dedicating the rest of this year to developing the skills needed to realize the vision, and to connect with the people who want to help make it happen.
i plan to build a garage with a friend, participate in a Permaculture Design Course, and take a welding class at the southern community college of maine.
i’m also looking to travel across the country with friends, to find exciting permaculture projects through workaway, and build a network of people who are similarly aligned.
I’m sharing a living, evolving map of my progress on this Path here, with a new entry every day.
if you want to help with any or all of these branches as a partner, a mentor, or a connector — please let me know!
Let’s build wonders together :)
email: samuel.stone724@gmail.com
Beautiful Vision Sam! Happy Birthday. Sending my love. 💕