Description

Dear Friends, this is a private link, not made public, available only to our ongoing group for those of you who feel called to continue with year six.
—Mark Nepo

 

YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT ALONE:

THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

A YEARLONG JOURNEY FOR 2026-2027

June 12-14, 2026, Oct 16-18, 2026, March 12-14, 2027, June 11-13, 2027

FRI. 6:00-9:00 P.M., SAT. 9:30-5:30 P.M., SUN. 1:00-4:00 P.M.

Meeting at Peoples Church, 1758 10th St N, Kalamazoo, MI, 49009

Closest Airports: Kalamazoo (15 minutes away) and Grand Rapids (45 minutes away)

 

CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED TO 17 STUDENTS.

COST: $1950.

 

“A friend may be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

This year’s journey will explore themes from several of his books, but centering on  my recent book, You Don’t Have to Do It Alone: The Power of Friendship, as well as my new book on the second half of life, The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life. Our journey together will explore the gift and spirit of friendship in all its dimensions and the precious, real journey of aging into a deeper friendship with life.

Friendship is indispensable. We may discover our dearest friends in the dark labyrinth of seeking truth together. Or, in a moment of feeling vulnerable, we may feel safe in the care of some trusted other. We often come upon our deepest friends when taking the long way home, when forced to put down our differences, when humbled to admit that we haven’t a clue where we’re going or how to get there. In the raw and tender space of such honesty, the net of friendship is woven. In fact, the root of the word friendship means “place of high safety.”

During our time together, we will look closely at the discovery of our kinship, the nature of friendship, the inevitable trials by which our bond is strengthened or broken, the acceptance of our humanness, and the conduit that lasting friendship becomes to the larger forces of life.

After a lifetime of trying to be a good friend, I feel called to affirm the spirit of friendship, to praise what it takes to love another well, and to better understand how friendship helps us live. So Come. Walk with me as we listen for how the spirit of friendship opens us to each other. Until we find the place of high safety where the most tender among us can show who we are, so we can come alive together, and affirm to each other that you don’t have do it alone.

 

Bring a Journal and an Open Heart.