For many, including myself, the cycle of life begins with trying to become “Someone” – someone “successful” and unique. In the USA that has typically been associated with financial success, as in “net worth = self worth”.
I’ve chased my share of fool’s gold. But as I’ve grown older I’ve found that the real gold of life is not advertised. The real gold is the depth and quality of life I experience and share.
I’ve come to know that I’ll take nothing with me when I pass. So the question becomes – what will I leave behind? What is worth leaving behind?
When I lived in Fort Lauderdale Florida twenty years ago I enjoyed a pristine patch of nature between the ocean and the intercostal waters called Hugh Taylor Beach park. It was a 180 acre oasis of real timeless Florida - subtropical trees, iguanas sunning on the rocks, a lagoon and 3 miles of beachfront – surrounded by miles of concrete development. It was an oasis of sanity in a land of flashy distractions and materialism.
This oasis of sanity, known as Fort Lauderdale’s Central Park, was made possible by an old man, a retired attorney from Chicago, who bought this piece of sub tropical paradise in 1893 for his home at $1 per acre. At that time Fort Lauderdale was a remote coastal village with one store, a few houses and the remains of an old army post.
In 1941, at the age of 91, Mr. Birch donated his estate as a public park to preserve this natural paradise from the encroaching development. At this elder age he knew that selling it for money was of no value to him. But saving this natural oasis and all his favorite trees for future generations was of priceless value.
When I rollerbladed around this park, watched the sunset over the intercoastal waterway or hiked the trails, I felt deep gratitude for his timeless gift. It made it possible for me to stay connected to nature in the concrete jungle of South Florida. I helped me stay sane.
Since then, I’ve had it in my heart to create a similar oasis and leave it behind for future generations as a priceless gift. A place that is a sanctuary for not only humans, but all life. The realization of this inspiration is the Sacred Mountain Water Wellness Sanctuary that is stewarded by the LovEvolution Fellowship.
I’ve been supported in countless ways in realizing this dream. On the day I purchased the property for Sacred Mountain Waters in May of 2017, I met and befriended an elder who shared my vision of cultivating a wellness sanctuary.
This man was a life long student of meta physics and spirituality who also wanted to leave behind a timeless and priceless gift. Like me, he’d also had some success in business, which for him was owning a health store. He shared my passion to create a space for incubating heart based new paradigm living.
Early on, with his feet on the grounds helping us cultivate the land, he saw the need for a tractor and bought one for the project. In 2020 when we were constructing what is now the LovEvolution Lodge he contributed to the creation of the main level community center space.
As a man who had succeeded in becoming “someone” he now is an aspiring nobody practicing a non dualistic philosophy that transcends separation consciousness, including individual egoic identity, to embrace the oneness of all.
In keeping with his unity consciousness, he prefers to be in the background and to be called “KnowThing” or “K” for short. His support on all levels has been immense. But his greatest contribution is his loving presence.
The dream of manifesting a 200 plus acre wellness sanctuary bounded by two pristine rivers in a valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains North of Asheville, NC continues to unfold. Our goal is to ultimately entrust this beautiful and private valley to the LovEvolution Fellowship Church so that it is owned by no one but the original creator. As human stewards we’ll continue to enjoy and share the blessings of this land in God’s Country without possessing it.
We welcome the support of those who also realize you can’t take it with you and who innerstand what our ancestors knew – that we don’t own the land. The land owns us.
We seek support for developing harmonious guest spaces on the land and acquiring the remaining boundaries of the valley to so that it can be stewarded for generations by the LovEvolution Fellowship.
To discuss how you might support and enjoy this shared vision contact Patrick Hennessey – the Executive Director of the LovEvolution Fellowship.
To be continued . . . Maybe by you?