Shadowcliff E-News - March 2010

Looking to the Future
by Robert J. Mann, Co-Director

In this sacred place called Shadowcliff, nature’s daily lesson is about connection and transition. The bountiful flower and aspen displays last summer were nature’s response to a wet winter and more sunlight and nutrients as beetle-infested pines made way for this new life.

2009 was also a year for the Shadowcliff board to explore our human connections through personal calls and interviews with a sampling of Shadowcliff friends and guests. Through these conversations, we experienced the importance of Shadowcliff’s diversity from guests who frequent our lodges as individuals, hostellers, family reunions, group retreats or as cabin dwellers. Conversations included participants in many of our workshops, including the faculty and attendees of our many sustainability workshops. This was a time of listening and learning as our board touched the hearts and minds of folks who share the Shadowcliff experience in many differing ways.
The Shadowcliff experience is more than vacation lodging or great educational opportunities. Shadowcliff is a mountain sanctuary where memories are created: memories of time together, of family, of new friends, of pine trees and pine beetles, marmots, hummingbirds, elk, moose and chipmunks and of being up close and personal with the beauty and lessons of the natural world.

In these mountains, sitting by the streams, hiking the trails, our senses come alive. Guests hear with new ears, smell in a new way, walk with renewed awareness of their surroundings, and see the sacred everywhere. Life is old in these mountains. Oceans once covered Shadowcliff and seashells and fossils are still found along high mountain trails and passes. With hopeful eyes Shadowcliff guests reconnect with nature. Tensions ease as they become more at peace with themselves and the world around them. Lives change, commitments are made, and new dreams arise.

At the heart of the Shadowcliff experience is the affirmative commitment to live our values. Shadowcliff guests can feel the vitality of these values simply in the way volunteers, staff and guests honor this place and those who make it part of their lives. This is a mountain sanctuary where lessons are learned and guests, volunteers and staff leave inspired for the journey.

We learned from our conversations that our guests love Shadowcliff “as it is” but also understand that the future belongs to those who dream and experience renewal in their lives and their special places. As the board plans for the future, including the transition from Judith and Bob as Co-Directors after the 2011 season, the lessons from these conversations and future interactions will guide us. We know to move slowly and to retain the sacredness of this place and its history and traditions, to plan our transitions carefully with many conversations and the support and leadership of our friends and both current and former leaders. We learned that many of you are willing to contribute more to Shadowcliff than we have asked in the past; perhaps more time, more of your wisdom, more of your financial or other resources. It will be our board’s responsibility to provide more opportunities and encouragement that permits your active participation in creating Shadowcliff’s future.

Late this spring or early summer, look for exciting changes in our website, improvements in the third floor of Rempel Lodge and some exciting news about our succession plans. During the past 18 months the board has worked closely with Bob and Judith to identify the skills and personal qualities we seek in their successor(s). This has been an exciting process and we hope to complete the search and announce our succession plans by June 1. Check the Shadowcliff website www.shadowcliff.org for further developments or give us a call after June 1 for more news.

Shadowcliff is an affiliate of Bridging The Gap - Connecting Environment, Economy, Community