Photo by Danielle KlockLotus in Bloom at Littletree Orchards, Newfield
About five years ago, at the age of 30, I got my first taste of what community feels like. I had been living a fairly isolated rural life when I enrolled my son in what was then Stone Circle School, which was administered through parent volunteerism and sweat equity. I got really involved, and was soon serving on the board of trustees, chairing the fundraising committee, designing brochures, volunteering in classrooms and reveling in the new relationships I had formed and the growth of my little boy, while learning about holistic education.
The next year I got an invitation to join the board at the Foundation of Light, and signed on as the editor of their newsletter. It was in this role that I noticed that although there was a large group of people with a tremendous amount of knowledge, that information wasn't being shared effectively. I knew that if all of these people could connect and share, we could really blossom and make a difference. I saw the potential impact that we could make in our communities.
When I moved to downtown Ithaca three years ago, I began attending Kundalini yoga classes with Jai Hari Meyerhoff, became a superworker at GreenStar, attended classes at Alternatives FCU, and just fell in love with Ithaca. It seemed the most magical place in the world to me. I soon met more and more people with so much energy and so much knowledge.
Sure, there were networks and groups of people who were interested in the same things I was (Sustainability, Wellness, and Spirituality), but there were still many individuals who were not widely connected, and many of the groups were struggling with outreach initiatives, though they wanted to welcome more people.
Many individual holistic practitioners and organizations did not have a marketing budget, and relied on word-of-mouth references.
Over and over again, I wished there could be some way to remedy the disconnect that I was witnessing, and to build a comprehensive platform to support and enrich the local holistic community. Initially I thought I would start a print publication, but through my experience as newsletter editor at the Foundation of Light, I realized that it lacked the interaction of a true community, was limited in it's potential scope, and I wasn't crazy about the waste of paper, even if it was recycled.
In May of 2007, I met my partner, Greg Kops, a talented software engineer, single father of three, and all around good guy. In September of that year the seed for Wishing Well had been planted, and ideas of its growth sprouted with every development.
What had begun as a small wish, a little idea, has developed into what you see today. At Wishing Well you can be part of a local resource that is dedicated to Sustainability, Wellness and Spirit.
Please take the time to sign up for an account, explore the site, share your ideas and knowledge, promote your business if you have one and contribute in any way you feel moved.
Welcome to our community.
Wishing You Well,
Danielle Klock, Managing Editor
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Addendum:
I want to add a special note of gratitude here. The above article begins at the point where I became an active member of the Ithaca community. But there was a time before that, when a sense of helplessness prevailed in my life, and I was on the outside looking in.
In 2003, on my way out the door of Alternatives Federal Credit Union, I saw a flyer on the bulletin board for Goddess Yoga. I carried that flyer in my pocket for two weeks before I dropped all of my excuses and showed up at the old Tiamat Studio above the Commons.
This is where I met Sandy Wold, who had created Healing the Goddess and taught Svaroopa Yoga. Sandy was on her own personal journey of transformation, but it was specifically through her care and teachings that I began to have the strength to reconnect with my own self, my own purpose, and my own empowerment through healing and transformation, and the creation of my own future.
At the Fingerlakes Bioneers "We Make Our Future" Conference today, when Sandy sat next to me at Dorothy Cotton's keynote address, I felt so strongly the gratitude for her role in my life, and I realized the necessity of acknowledging her here.
Thank you, Sandy.
Namaste.