Play as Knowledge, Play as Wisdom by Marie Gillum, PhD Student

I am leaving the initial residency for Visionary Practice & Regenerative Leadership doctoral students, VPRL 600 Residency I: Seeking, transformed in more ways than language can fully express. I depart feeling affirmed, seen, loved, and deeply eager to embrace all that lies ahead. I 3 am deeply affected by the intentional centering of mother, spirit, and the art of being aided in illuminating the direction of my future learnings.I hold profound gratitude for the hands, hearts, and minds that cultivated this offering, and for our Earth Mother, who held us gently in her arms as we engaged in sacred, spiritual play.

As I reflect on the experience, I remain in awe of how play – spiritual, mental, and physical- reshaped my entire being. Through play, clarity emerged and brought definition to my Vision Seed. This clarity was most prominent during my solo trek on the land in which I chose to visit Grandfather Tree and Grandmother Tree. I played freely. I sloshed through mud, caressed low-hanging branches, and giggled with grasshoppers. Dirty and at peace, I encountered clarity through simply being.
For me, being has often felt like a complex negotiation. Quieting the mind is no easy feat. And yet, here, among kin, the permission to simply be was not only spoken, but deeply felt. What an immeasurable gift that was.

Following this exploration, I felt open. I feel open still. The permission to just be is a gift that continues to unfold, a gift that keeps on giving.

Back in the Kiva, our meeting place throughout the residency, surrounded by “Guerrilla love,” I saw clearly that my initial vision—while impactful—lacked space for play. Sovereignty, as I had imagined it, was prescriptive rather than self-descriptive. But what does true sovereignty feel like? What does it look like in the context of health, wealth, food, and nutrition? What is the relationship between experiences of sovereignty and the internal and external senses of deservingness?

I think I must play with these questions. Let them roll around on the tongue. Let them disrupt binary thinking. Let them guide me outward toward the expansive.

This residency permitted me to break form, to play with self and others, while also affirming our deep interconnectedness with land and soul. I leave this space forever changed, carrying profound gratitude for every person, every piece of land, and every spirit I encountered. I am leaving eager to learn amongst the dynamic leaders around me, furthermore, I leave this residency with love, kinship, and a rekindled desire to play.

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