Collective Wisdom

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As our 2025 Cohort came to a close, one of the students shared writing inspired by the retreat. I’m delighted to share it now with our broader community. Deep gratitude to the Benedictine Sisters at the Immaculate Conception, whose hospitality and love made our time together especially meaningful.

"Funny word collective, like herbal tea, its subtle tones suggest a deeper knowing. Like community, like oneness…

Funny words trip us up. We are so adjusted to the ordinary, the anticipated, the expected that we dull our capacity to observe, to reflect, or to listen beyond the ordinary and touch the hidden corners of the real that are often just out of reach. We do not see because we look too harshly upon the surface.

There is a book in the room where we met together, prayed together, laughed together, shared together, and greeted one another in silence. It is called The Book of Belonging. I did not know it, but this past year, we have all co-authored our cohort book of belonging, our own collective tree of wisdom.

A wisdom tree is a marvelous collective. I am glad to have found it."

9/24/25

Chuck Wester, First-year student of WTC's Spiritual Direction Program