** Trigger warning ** the stories in this episode include intimate partner violence, suicidality, and other traumas related to being unhoused. Please take care of yourself as you listen and consider skipping this episode today if these subjects will trigger you.
Elizabeth Bowler is a social entrepreneur in Oakland. After being away from the California Bay Area for many years, she was shocked upon her return to see the massive explosion in the homeless population. Volunteering at a youth homeless shelter blossomed into a spiritual journey for her that I can’t wait to share with you. Listen up for Elizabeth’s philosophy on being in relationship with people who have been traditionally excluded from mainstream society. Hers is a story of social entrepreneurship yes – and also a story of being an attentive witness of the divine at work in the world.
Links we chatted about in the episode:
Support hort.culture on Venmo @hort_culture
My conversation with Elizabeth got me thinking about those things that happen to us in life that bring us down to the ground. Elizabeth talks about stories that bring you to the ground. And I’m struck by why we are brought down to the ground- that the ground is an appropriate receptacle for our grief, our outrage at injustice, our astonishment at the tender and vulnerable humanity of one another. The ground holds us up when we can no longer hold ourselves up – or are ready to give up the illusion that we ever held ourselves up. Join me in continuing to ponder this mystery.
Today instead of asking you to give money to this podcast, I’m asking you to contribute to the work of hort.culture find them on Venmo @hort_culture (Elizabeth Bowler) or at the link in this episode’s show notes.
