Where in the World: My 2020 Travels

March: I did not go to San Antonio for the giant writer’s conference. I didn’t go to Boulder for the intimate writer’s workshop with authors I revere. Instead I stayed home, thinking I was nowhere.

April: I did not go to Oaxaca, Mexico to a painting workshop with a dear friend that we had looked forward to for months. Instead I stayed home, practicing T’ai Chi Chih in my condo.

May: I did not go to Arizona for my granddaughter’s high school graduation. Instead I stayed home in my condo, practicing TCC on this land on which I reside.

June: I did not take my granddaughter on a river cruise through the great cities of Europe. Instead I stayed home, practicing TCC in my condo on this land where I reside which was stolen.

August: I will not go to Madeline Island for a writing and meditation workshop. Instead I will stay home, practicing TCC in my condo on this land where I reside, which was stolen through a false treaty with the Dakota people.

September: I will not go to Greece and spend time on my own in Athens, a city I adore. Instead, I will stay home, practicing TCC in my condo on this land where I reside which was stolen through a false treaty with the Dakota people who never received the three million dollars that was promised to them in the so-called “Treaty of Travers des Sioux.”

After Athens, I will not go to a writer’s retreat on a Greek island whose name I have forgotten. Instead, I will stay home, practicing TCC in my condo on this land where I reside which was stolen through a false treaty with the Dakota people who never received the three million dollars that was promised to them in the so-called “Treaty of Travers des Sioux,” and despite the fact that many Dakota were driven from their land in the aftermath of that “treaty,” this land where I practice is still indigenous land.

After the island retreat, I will not go to an artist’s house in an Athens suburb and learn from her the art of photomontage. Instead, I will stay home, practicing TCC in my condo on this land where I reside which was stolen through a false treaty with the Dakota people who never received the three million dollars that was promised to them in the so-called “Treaty of Travers des Sioux,” and despite the fact that many Dakota were driven from their land in the aftermath of that “treaty,” this land where I practice is still indigenous land and will always be indigenous land, and it holds great historical, spiritual and personal significance that the Dakota people continue to celebrate with their presence here. I am somewhere important and amazing. I honor this place and the Dakota people with gratitude.