Dear Friend,

“Our way of life is carried on the shoulders of evolution. There may be problems still to be worked out, but new technologies will soon provide the solutions we need.”

So it seemed until now, and some would like to believe it still, but most of us aren’t so sure anymore. Melting ice caps, extinction of species, scarcity of water, starvation of human populations have concerned us from a distance. Now we are being touched where we live, as we watch powerful institutions teeter and fail. We begin to sense how fragile our way of life really is. The word “unsustainable” takes on sinister immediacy. It’s not just a concept anymore.

Even though some try to hide, eventually they will have to lift their heads out of the sand and look around for something to eat. What they see will break the denial. Two things will be obvious: 1) greedy disrespect for the natural world is not practical. At some moment it begins to destroy itself and its adherents. 2) We’ve been greedy and disrespectful for some time now.

We will then recall a sense we humans have of another way to live—a way that has to do with hearing the natural world speak of sacredness.

Listening to the sacred natural world is nothing new; wind, sun, fire, earth, mountains, rocks, waters, plants and animals spoke to our ancestors for thousands and thousands of generations. The world told the people how to survive and thrive, and the listening was effective; its proof is you and me, alive today.

Good news: The millennial wisdom is still kept by holders of many sacred traditions. More good news: These ways are timeless. They are just as practical now as they ever were. Even more good news:  There is something in our soul that recognizes the wisdom teachings and practices. We still resonate with them. They still open, instruct and move us.

What sustained our ancestors will sustain us. The way forward is the way back—back to hearing the world we are part of. Back to knowing that everything is alive, and that life is sacred. Back to the possibility of a future for humanity.

How do we get back? The ancestral teachings and practices need a home where they will be nourished, kept strong, and made available. To provide this home is the mission of the Blue Deer Center. Can there be a more important mission? One more deserving of your support, or one more timely?

Time is of the essence. Waiting for things to fall apart more won’t do. We must be ready to serve the many who will feel the urgency of finding what the Blue Deer Center offers. We have a staff of incredible people on fire with enthusiasm and skill. What is needed now is funding to do the things any home must do: pay the mortgage, replace leaky roofs, retire oil-thirsty furnaces, and so on.

We are offering our people a new chance to connect with something very old: the ways to get along with the natural world.

Thank you deeply for the support you have given Blue Deer Center in the past. Thank you deeply for the support you will continue to give in the present. Together, we are sowing the seeds of a very rich and vibrant future.

With appreciation,
Eliot Cowan
Founder and Board Chair
Blue Deer Center
December 2008