***If you would like to purchase the recording of this event and obtain a copy of the writing prompts we used to explore the story, reach out to me at Innerlightasheville@gmail.com—the price is your chosen donation to World Central Kitchen to feed those impacted by disaster.

Depth storytelling is more than the simple telling of a tale. It offers points of contact to present-day reality, to themes and archetypes that continue to speak to us. And it offers questions, moments of reflection that open your life back to the generations upon generations that have carried this story forward.

Spinning Straw into Gold is a story about autonomy, and it’s a story about Othering, and the ways in which we can fall into a trance of productivity that robs us of the things that matter most. It’s a story about the price of prioritizing the One at the cost of the Many. It’s a story about what happens when we fall out of balance with our own natural rhythms and with the wheel of the world.

In many northern-hemisphere farming cultures, February is the time of winter when the first ewes begin to give birth, and fresh milk is finally available. That’s why this time of year is referred to as “Imbolc”—I Mbolg, in the belly—in the bellies of the ewes was the beginning of hope that the long, cold darkness would soon be over. It is also traditional in Gaelic-speaking cultures to weave ornaments of straw in the first days of February as a way of honoring the return of light and hope. So this story of straw and the birth of a child feels right to tell this time of year.

We’ll gather at my office near downtown Asheville (well, the first 8 of us will) and via GoogleMeet from all over the world. I’ll have warm drinks available for those attending in person.

I’ll offer a song or poem, then tell the story. We’ll spend some time feeding the story by sharing the places it touched us, and we’ll have some time to write quietly together on the themes that are resonant.

Three, as we know from fairy tales, is a powerful number. It’s usually the number of attempts it takes to get something right, and often it’s the number of magical tools or skills necessary to overcome the challenge at hand.

Three is also, in the old Irish understanding, the combined power of earth, sea, and sky.

With this offering, I am hoping to build community in three ways:

Community between you and the story, which has things to tell you that I know nothing of.

 Community between you, me, and the others gathered to hear the story, and the way the story weaves itself into our lives as a rich, shared metaphor.

Community between our little gathering and the wider world, as our donations weave us and our intentions into the fabric of the planet.

 This is the first story of 8 gatherings planned for this year. My intention is to align each story with the season of the telling.

Attendance is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation $20 to $40, but each participant is trusted to find the right amount. No one will be turned away). All proceeds will be donated to efforts to feed the hungry, build justice, combat climate change, and end war.

(For this gathering, your donations will be going to Foothills Conservancy, World Central Kitchen, or Beloved Asheville. We’ll decide which together after the story.)

Reserve your spot by venmo (@Lissa-Carter) with your donation and the description Straw Into Gold. As of this writing the in-person option is sold out.

I’ll send you the link for the gathering if you are attending online and provide further details via email, once your donation is received.

Questions? Story ideas? Organizations you’d like to nominate? Email me at innerlightasheville@gmail.com.