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FREDERICK
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Here is my brother, Frederick William Johnson. He died last Wednesday at age 59. We were each other's allies all our lives. Apparently the first thing he reached out to grab when he was a baby was a fistful of my hair. I taught him his colors using the bulbs of Christmas tree lights. "Lellow," he would say. "Bue." When I was six I was bitten by a dog while protecting him. Seventeen years later, when the man I was in love with was killed in a motorcycle accident, Frederick was the first person I called.
He had a very tough life. We grew up in a home with a violent alcoholic father and a loving, but overly doting mother. From the time Frederick was an adolescent he suffered from depression. For almost thirty years he was in therapy, in and out of psychiatric hospitals, trying different medications, undergoing electroconvulsive therapy. He lived an increasingly constricted life, unable to work, except now and then in jobs like dishwashing that did not cause him too much stress.
Yet what was so remarkable about Frederick was that during those times when the depression lifted, he flowered... or tried to. He was filled with hope, good intentions, interest in life. I don't mean he was manic; he wasn't. He simply felt renewed. He would start running and lifting weights, get back to reading, especially books on meditation. He would make plans. He was an exceptional photographer. Amazingly, he was not suicidal. I often told him he was the most courageous person I knew. I could not imagine many people suffering the way he did, yet always so jubilantly seeking the light whenever the least little flicker of it shone on him.
We trusted and loved each other deeply. We knew all the details of each other's lives and spoke on the phone two or three times a week. And we always had fun together. Two years ago, when I was visiting him in Vermont, we started climbing what we thought was a fairly unchallenging peak in the Green Mountains. After a couple of hours' walk through beautiful forests, we found ourselves scaling an enormous globe of pure granite, creeping up on our hands and knees. We sat back and burst out laughing as we realized that the "trail" would not soon improve and that sometimes, yes, it is okay to turn back.
Frederick had trouble sleeping and frequently took long walks through Montpelier in the middle of the night. One thing he and our mother and I had in common was a love of wild nature: blizzards, high tides, thunderstorms. On the night of April 27, he was walking by the Winooski River and apparently ventured too close to the edge. He was swept away. His body was found a couple of days later.
I will miss him desperately. |
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GLOBAL EARTH EXCHANGE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
A Global Earth Exchange might be one person or a group, might last a few minutes or an entire week, could be well-planned-out or completely spontaneous.
There is no fee for doing a Global Earth Exchange, and each "host" will receive a support packet containing a T-shirt, Radical Joy for Hard Times manifestos, and other items. Those who send a photo and description of their Global Earth Exchange will have their event represented on our website and will be considered for a book we are compiling.
To read some of the stories and see photos of the 2010 Global Earth Exchange, click here.
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WRITING AND WORKSHOP NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My book, The World Is a Waiting Lover, with a foreword by Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, is available from Amazon.com or from your favorite bookstore.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS from VISION ARROW
 Youth Vision Fast
(recommended for ages 16-22)
July 14-24
In the high desert of eastern California
Sponsored by the School of Lost Borders
To recognize and mark the moment when one turns toward adulthood takes great courage, especially in a culture that has all but forgotten the importance of honoring this transition. With the intention of finding and facing your deepest truths, your strengths and weaknesses, you then turn toward the critical questions: "Who am I to be in the world?" and "What are my gifts?" This opportunity is both a great challenge and a simple task, providing the possibility of returning home with a timeless memory in your bones and a profound connection to the Earth, ready to embark on the life-long quest of finding and making your place in the world.
Guides: Will Scott and Trebbe Johnson
Tuition: $700-$1,100 (sliding scale)
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 Lead Like a River
July 30-August 6
Atlas Mountains, Morocco
Being clear on who you are and what you stand for, defining your vision and inspiring others to act are all key competencies of your leadership. Mastering this is a lifelong journey, and this program in the Atlas mountains provides the ideal opportunity to reflect on your path, gain strength through connecting with nature, and listen to what is important and meaningful to you.
You will stay at the beautiful Kasbah du Toubkal, just one hour from the Marrakech airport. This hidden Shangri-la is pearched on rocks with stunning views of remote valleys and the summit of Mount Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa. We will spend five nights in the Kasbah and one night in a mountain lodge that we will trek to. You will have a 24-hour solo in a wilderness place of your choosing, where you will reflect on both the landscape around you and the landscape within as you mark your passage to a new height of personal leadership.
Program is limited to ten participants.
Guides: Eugene Hughes and Trebbe Johnson
Cost: €3,300 / $4,250 (includes all meals and lodging and transportation to Kasbah du Toubkal Lodge; does not include airfare)
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 Endless Mountains Vision Quest
August 14-18
Northeastern Pennsylvania
2011 marks the 15th consecutive year for this four-day program, held in a secluded 400-acre nature preserve. The quest is specially designed for those who seek a meaningful rite of passage in a beautiful, yet accessible place. You explore many of the same processes and practices as in the longer vision quest, but with a focus on reading Nature's lessons and discovering how they apply to your own path in life. For the twenty-four-hour solo you may choose from among diverse ecological niches: glacial pond, meadow, wetlands, stream, or forest. Minimal backpacking.
Guides: Trebbe Johnson
Cost: $595, plus approximately $75-125 for one night's lodging in a local bed & breakfast
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 Path of the Lover workshop
August 26-28
Vashon Island, WA (a short ferry ride from Seattle)
The Path of the Lover is an approach to joyful transformation and soulful action that emboldens you, allures you, and points you in the direction that's already calling from deep within you.
In this workshop we use imagery, life map-making, dialogue with partners and your own inner voices, storytelling, nature walks, and other practices to:
- Discover how fascination and desire have been your allies all your life
- Recognize the persistent, persuasive voice of the inner lover in you that calls you forth into the beckoning mystery and how to mediate between it and the protective, often self-defeating voice that holds you back
- Take the first steps toward living as the lover of yourself in small ways and large
- Fall in love with your self and your own unique path in life!
Contact Drew Middlebrook
Cost: $250 for the workshop and snacks
$350 for workshop, plus breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday
For an additional $50 per night you have the option of staying in the cabin on the island, where we'll be meeting, instead of commuting.
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 Sahara Desert Vision Quest and Camel Caravan
December 31, 2010-January 21, 2011
Southern Algeria
Following the steps of intrepid seekers throughout the ages who have been drawn to the desert to fast and pray for guidance, we venture into the greatest desert of all: the Sahara. Our guides are a group of nomadic Tuareg, a matriarchal people known for their love of the desert, poetry, camels, and beauty.
Our base camp is truly remote, reached after 1-2 days travel by Land Rover, followed by 4-5 days in a camel caravan. Your three-day solo will take place in a place of your choosing, in a desert valley or in a black basalt wilderness. To undertake this quest, you must have an adventurous spirit and be prepared to sleep under the stars, immerse yourself in the ways of another culture, experience hot days and cold nights, live three weeks without a shower, and move fearlessly into a life of meaning and fulfillment.
Guides : Sabina Wyss, Trebbe Johnson, Adem Mellakh, and Tuareg hosts
Cost : $5,555 Swiss Francs, (approximately $5,585.00), including all meals, camping fees, riding camel, land transportation in the desert, and air travel from a European city to Tamanrasset, Algeria
Call 570 727 4272 or email Trebbe if you have questions or would like to talk about any of these programs.
For a complete list of 2009 programs offered by Vision Arrow, see our website.
Call 570 727 4272 or email Trebbe if you have questions or would like to talk about any of these programs.
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