Wow, thank you to everyone who attended Peter’s Memorial and those who were sending us love from afar. As folks have been asking how it went, it’s been difficult to describe…it was beautiful, powerful, intimate, full of love and connection. It was ‘great’ and yet, I have a hard time saying that given what we all gathered to acknowledge; that Peter isn’t with us in body anymore.
I feel a bit cut loose into a new layer of reckoning and grief, though I feel so much stronger knowing you all are there pouring Peter-magnitude love into the world as the beautiful beings you are and that we have each other.
I wanted to share some highlights of the ceremony for everyone.
I’d been envisioning the portal on our altar space for quite some time. I wanted to have a peaceful and powerful nod towards the transition Peter made onto this planet when he was born 37 years prior to the day, and his transition into another realm when he died. Weyam G. helped bring this vision to life and tended beautifully to the altar space we each visited to bring our own beauty and tears.
The incredible Jesse B called upon our grandmothers and grandfathers to protect us, and delivered a grounding and delicious bowl of oatmeal for everyone. It was spiced and flavored with Vitamin P’s trademark creation ‘Spice of Life’ and ‘Maple Magic’ as inspiration.
Alex K gifted us a soulful song circle and lead a group check in where we each named what Peter helped us see in ourselves. Everyone brought their gratitude and presence to the altar by lighting a candle in honor of Peter’s impact on our lives.
Emily PL transitioned us to what we’d been calling ‘Peter Experience Circles’ where each person touched in with a small group oriented around an activity inspired by three themes we’d identified as central to Peter’s magic: Play & Creativity, Dreaming & Desires, and Vulnerability & Expression. We played with legos, paint and conversing with Lambie & friends. We dreamt through writing postcards to Peter, creating peace mandalas, and imagining our ‘Be the King’-style mission in life. We were vulnerable together about how our grieving process has been and what it’s like missing Peter.
When we returned to our big group circle, we met the ‘Peter Wish Tree’ and introduced the idea of an annual ‘Weaving Gathering’ of Peter’s loved ones on the weekend of Peter’s birthday. Emily PL powerfully claimed her place as the vision keeper for 2023. We used the inspiration of Peter’s birthday to leave our own wishes with the Peter Wish Tree until next year when we meet again and leave some ceremonial ashes at its base. Peter’s final paragraph from his Will was read as a fill in for his birthday wish and we blew out our candles in honor of him, his impact, his wish, and his birthday. Joshua H played Peter’s flute and lead us in singing a song that was near and dear to P, Gentle Heart, as we closed.
Folks went home with a gorgeous program filled with Peter’s art, his handwriting traced into messages, and community contributions. They also had a hankie made from Peter’s clothing, a pack of Spice of Life and Maple Magic, and a medicine bag filled with three crystals chosen by Matt W to soothe our broken hearts and align with Peter’s purpose in the world, as well as ashes made during a ceremonial fire circle to honor Peter.
I fully trust the love that went into planning this event was felt by all and it was no small feat! Michael T was my right hand man as production manager, Emily PL was holding all the ‘people’ logistics, Amanda N was our designer and the producer of the beautiful program we went home with, Jesse B was our food-magician-facilitator and helped to spearhead the production of Spice of Life and Maple Magic with Amanda, Alex K wove our voices together, Astraea B held down the flow through the space, Stephen F was our music man who organized Peter’s own piano and flute improvisations into playlists that we listened to and he also captured these gorgeous photos, Ben W helped keep our vision grounded and in good alignment, Dave K kept our tiny ones connected with a kiddo play space, Weyam G built and kept our altar safe and protected. It was truly an incredible creation of heart and devotion.
Thank you all, near and far, for offering your grief and love into this space. If you RSVP’d to the event and were not able to make it, I’ll be in touch to send you some gifts from our gathering. And please do stay in the loop with us as our Weaving Gathering for 2023 comes together, especially if you’d like to be part of the vision creation team lead by Emily PL. Looking forward to being with you next year <3
Big love,
Morgan
Thank you, again, to Stephen F for lovingly capturing moments from the Memorial. You can connect more to Stephen and his photography business here. I’ll also post his full album of photos when he they are ready to share.
Also, if you don’t already know them, learn more about some of the badass humans, friends, and facilitators who were holding me through this experience: Jesse Bloom & his Sacred Kitchen, Alex Kugler, and Michael Tertes.