A Day in Nature with Seven Sisters Sangha

Seven Sisters Sangha in North London had the idea of holding a fundraiser centred around the trees in the local Downhills Park. Our sangha member Colin has gotten to know all the trees and their history very well, and enjoys sharing his knowledge with others. We thought this could be a unique way to bring people together in nature for Being Peace, given the central role our connection to Mother Earth plays in Thay’s teachings. Once we had the idea of meeting in the park, we thought of other offerings to round out the day. Our sangha co-facilitators offered to lead sessions of mindful walking and qigong. A new member of the sangha volunteered to contribute a home-made Vietnamese meal together with his mother. Another new member heard that her employer had a community fund that we could apply to for a donation and got to work on the application with the result that they donated £500. Another sangha member coordinated with the Plum Village UK office and other sanghas in London to make sure the event was publicised.

As the date drew near, we started to worry about the weather as the forecast was for heavy rain. At the last moment we were able to organise a contingency plan so people wouldn’t get soaked. In the event we didn’t need to use it. We were very pleased that over 30 people signed up, and over 20 people came from across London on the day. Apart from the money raised, the nitty-gritty work of organising brought us together more closely as a sangha, and we made valuable connections with people outside our local sangha on the day.

Una wrote in to say:

“Thank you so much for organising this event. It was really special. Huge gratitude to Colin for the guided tour and sharing all his wisdom. I live near this park, and now, thanks to him I can see everything with fresh eyes.”