08/06/2026
Yesterday I read a newsletter from Kelly Tenkely, the principal of a small school my son attended years ago. She shared a story about taking her teachers to walk a labyrinth as part of a professional development day. Each teacher walked it alone, taking the time they needed before gathering together to reflect on what they had noticed.
She wrote,
“We all walked the same labyrinth. But none of us had the same journey.”
She went on to say,
“Each of us had made meaning differently, noticing different things, carrying different perspectives and emotions into the journey. As we listened to one another, our individual experiences became richer as we borrowed one another’s eyes, and we noticed things we had completely missed ourselves.”
That phrase - borrowed one another’s eyes - has stayed with me.
It made me think about why I love learning in community.
Whether we’re walking a labyrinth or wandering through a garden, we each bring our own stories, experiences, questions and ways of seeing the world. One person notices the fragrance of a plant first. Another remembers it growing in her grandmother’s garden. Someone asks a question that changes the way we all understand a plant. Another shares an experience that opens a new perspective.
When we gather together, our learning becomes richer because we begin to borrow one another’s eyes.
It’s one of the reasons I continue to create spaces where women can gather around the plants. Yes, we learn from the herbs themselves but we also learn from one another.
Thank you, Kelly, for sharing such a beautiful reflection and for allowing me to share it here. It was exactly what I needed to read yesterday.
Link to Kelly’s blog in the comments below and registration link to the Rooted class can be found on my website.