Nereo Bello
Rachel, from the Scottish Crannog Center, knew that my workshop needed to be by the water and the fire, beside a tiny path worn into the earth by footsteps leading to the edge of Loch Tay. The Rise and Shine Festival, a collaborative creation of the Scottish Crannog Center and UNESCO’s Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts, celebrates our diverse ways of being and knowing. Here, in this sacred space by the water, visitors could slow down and reflect, held by the natural elements of fire, water, and soil that sustain us.
Participants arrived alone or in pairs, moving slowly, embracing the quiet of the circle. Each person was offered a small seed envelope, inside which was a strip of silver etched with a word. This ritual offered a moment to pause and reflect on the words we carry close to our hearts—words of care, of love, of pain, of joy. Words that speak to our inner and outer landscapes.
As each envelope was opened, a story unfolded, revealing the meaning behind the etched word. In this moment of exchange, participants were invited to share a word of their own—a word that held deep meaning for them, that touched their spirit. This circle was a space for passing on words that matter, for honouring each other’s inner landscapes and languages, and for practicing radical hospitality through the simple act of sharing a word.
An 8-year-old girl received the word “Salam,” peace in Arabic, sent from Gaza through Alison Phipps. In exchange, she offered the word “hug.” The purity of this exchange moved every adult present to tears. It was a profound reminder of the depth of connection that the circle holds, the power of a single word as we crafted rings together, we celebrated these words, these small but profound snippets of care and connection and embodied knowledge in the form of circular pedagogy. Everyone left the circle carrying a piece of someone else’s story, someone else’s understanding of what it means to care, all sustained by the fire, the water and the soil of the very special place that is the Scottish Crannog Center.
It has been a deeply healing experience to facilitate this workshop, and to share people’s words of beauty and love in such turbulent times. To do this work in a setting that connects us and our embodied knowledge to the water and the fire through the ages has been profound for me. I am filled with gratitude for this opportunity to be part of your festival this year.
