Shända L. De Anda at the Rite of Return
The Safety of the Shore
By Shända L. De Anda
She knows it’s close …
can feel its breathing.
Tries again to scream
but only hears her own heart beating.
The monster closes in.
There’s no place left to hide.
She turns to fight … what she faces is a mirror.
The monster is her ... it’s somewhere inside …
She looks deep, unable to turn away.
It’s bigger than a small thing … no it’s much more.
IT is great strength, raw power, fierceness.
She is her own protection …
after a turbulent journey, the safety of the shore
Veteran Rites bows to the courage, resilience, and wholeness of the eight initiates from our military family who blessed our ceremony on Easton Ridge this August.
With grace and grit, you show us that whatever the “turbulent journey” in life, the grief, the pain, or uncertainty, we can always find the “safety of the shore” if we turn into OUR TRUE NATURE and THE NATURE THAT MIRRORS OUR WHOLENESS.
From that remembering we can always regain our footing in our TRUE IDENTITY, PURPOSE, & BELONGING.
Your stories are completely yours and all of ours.
Together, WE ARE the Safety of the Shore…GRAND RISING.
Welcome Home with Love and Honor.
Mzsoldier
Mary C.
Rachael
Emily AKA “Purple Haze”
Incredible Whole Veteran (left) and Teresa (right)
Anthony
Summer 2023 Veterans Rite of Return Ceremony Team and Initiates
From Top Left: Elder Wilderness Rite of Passage Guide Susan Hobbs, VR Co-Founder and Senior Guide Larry Hobbs, WROP Guide Mitchel Brookman, Ceremonial Assistant Brandon Dorrington, Incredible Whole Veteran, Initiate Mzsoldier, WROP Guide Semba, Initiate Teresa, Ceremonial Assistant Debbee Aquila, Initiate Rachael.
From Bottom Left: Initiates Mary C., Emily AKA “Purple Haze”, Anthony, and Shända L. De Anda
Acknowledgements: Deep gratitude to all VR Rites of Passage Guides (Susan, Larry, Mitch, Semba) and our incredible Ceremony Assistants (Debbee, Brandon), VR Welcome Wagon Jess Gorée-Medoff & Dan Medoff, Inventory Crew Carol & Galen, the crew holding down circles while on the land (Mark, Steve, Sheila, Shari), our man JD in Roslyn, our Community Fellowship of Donors, Enterprise Truck Rental (Olympia), The Marie Bed & Breakfast (Olympia), and Andrew Nicholls at Urban Log Studios.
Thank you to the voices that enabled our initiates to hear the call to the land: The Compassionate Warrior Council for Reintegration, Sarah Blum, Thunder, Yolanda AKA “Ya Ya” Jones, and all souls within and beyond the bare bones wilderness rites of passage lineage of the School of Lost Borders, the Wilderness Guides Council, and Veteran Rites.
We honor the privilege to have gather and heal in the wilderness cared for and stewarded by Larry and Susan Hobbs for decades, which sits within the boundaries of the ceded lands of The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.
Witness three minutes of Veteran Transformation in the YouTube Video above with moments from the land with the frequency-minded music of Listening to Smile. *Volume Up!
