Starting a New Chapter

The number 7 has always been a magical number for me. I loved turning 7 and I loved turning 7×10 a few months ago. That birthday of mine became a time to reflect on how well I was doing in terms of taking care of people and projects that I’m committed to.  And that includes you.

Cliff and I have three kids who have grown into lovely, capable, self-supporting adults. So I have no worries there. Still & Moving, though – as something like my 4th child – came to mind as definitely continuing to need my ongoing support.  As the daughter of an active 93 year old mom, I expect to be around and spunky for many years to come…. yet not forever! What to do?

It’s been our family’s honor and privilege to cover the studio’s rent and other operational expenses since the beginning. So, for many years, I figured Still & Moving might just fade away once I wasn’t involved. But I realized by my 70th birthday that even though it still needs financial boosting, you who make up our Still & Moving’ ‘ohana depend far less on me than you used to. Your staff is taking great leadership, and your students and teachers are taking lots of initiative, volunteering and providing a great network of support.  

What are all the signs I’m seeing of this support net? I’m thinking about all of you who…

… show up to create the flower leis for our May Day, or who come to measure and cut fabric for our hula pa’u skirts. Not to mention our hula ‘mom’ who voluntarily sews every single costume with love and prayers for each dancer.

… volunteer to teach SuperClass sessions and do For the Love of Dance demonstrations and mini-lessons. You students who take dozens of classes during our benefit challenges to raise money for worthy causes, and who also make financial contributions, yourselves. 

… go out of your way to sub for each other when another teacher is sick. Who come early or stay late cleaning up for your classes. You who take it upon yourself to wash all our aerial hammocks – unasked, unpaid – and who also teams up with a sound bowl musician to give monthly sound healing sessions to benefit local non-profits.

I’m remembering you…

… being part of our huge cast of students, staff, and teachers who rehearse for many weeks to put on our gorgeous Ramayana enactment for the public each year. 

… coming to set up our outside dance floor for our Diwali performance during the pandemic. 

… giving your time as dancers to perform at the Pan-Pacific Festival, or at a senior care home, or a hospice facility. 

… volunteering at a tiny house village for folks making their way off the streets. You contributing meals for weeks to a bed-bound teacher who was pregnant.  

… helping flooded farmer friends of ours.

… you musicians, actors, and dancers sharing your talents with us at Open Mic and Music nights. You faculty, staff, and students bringing potluck contributions to Satsang on Sundays. 

… you little-known and well-known members of our extended community around the world giving free presentations at our online conversation circle on Saturdays called Gems from the Wisdom Traditions.

… you staff members driving to the studio when we are closed for business because the weather is wreaking havoc – just to make sure we’re not getting flooded or springing a leak. 

… you, our volunteer handyman, fixing just about anything of ours that breaks, and also creating fantasmagorical balloon sculptures for all our special occasions. 

… you, our long-distance friends keeping track of our progress and cheering us on from afar, sending your love, attending our online celebrations even if it’s late at night your time.

All your generous, kind acts – like these and countless others – have shown me that we have woven a fabric of community that can stand the test of time. 

So, I wondered, how can I give you all the ability to move forward beyond my tenure? What can I do to make that future possible?  

The answer: I can set up a tax-deductible, charitable non-profit organization!!! 

And so, we are doing it. It’s a huge step.This status will allow all of you in this wonderful community to lend your support! Your own legacy will shine. This step will provide a sustainable future for our beloved Still & Moving. And our nonprofit will be called…..

[drum roll….]

[wait for it…]

Still & Moving Community Center. 

Ta da! You’ve already created a true community center here, so now we’re making it official.

Still & Moving Community Center will give all the amazing classes, series, workshops, and trainings we already give. We’ll still offer our therapeutic bodywork. We’ll still do all our conversation circles, performances, and special events. With you, we’ll find the support to make it all work. And more!

Yay!  And what will be our first campaign? To find our forever home.

Rest assured, we have a renewable long term lease here at 1024 Queen Street in Honolulu, so that’s fine for now. However, there’s nothing sustainable about continuing to throw lease money down the drain, as we have for the last 15 years. 

So our plan is to look for and find our forever home for Still & Moving Community Center! Something very close to if not directly in city center. Some place with beautiful indoor space, living green space, and parking. Some place to call OUR home into the long term future!

Your network of friends and family can help us find and land our forever place. Last year we were gifted a baby grand piano. So who knows what’s coming our way?  As my dad told me in his last piece of advice: “Anything is possible – at any time.”  

What can you do right now? You can start by attending one of our Round Table conversations. Learn about what kind of property we are looking for and how the non-profit will work. Share with us what you really love already about Still & Moving and how it’s made a difference in you life. Sign up here!

By this tender stage of being 70 years young, I’ve learned to set plans in motion for the future and then let it unfold in its own magical way, expecting to be surprised!