From The Innkeepers

July is the month where traditionally in this country we celebrate the birth of our nation.  This country was born out of acts of bravery and the courage to seek freedom.  In celebrating the 4^thof July holiday this year, I was in a rather pensive frame of mind somewhat brought on by the heart wrenching videos of the past weeks, of immigrant children and their parents who have been separated from their families and kept in substandard living conditions in the detention camps on our borders.  Their only desire is the same as that which drove our founding fathers and mothers 243 years ago to risk all in search of a better, freer, and safer life for themselves and their children.

In reflecting on the deeper meaning of our “Independence Day” holiday, we are of course extremely grateful for the many freedoms both physical and spiritual which form the very bedrock of the founding of this nation.  But because of the diversity of people who grace our inn throughout the year, we realize that our independence as a people is dependent on the degree to which we realize that we are all interdependent.  We cannot help but reflect with gratitude on the many gifts shared by the groups of people who pass through the Rustic Gate each year: thought leadership, artistic creativity, spiritual wisdom, compassion, kindness, openness, curiosity, and a desire to learn and explore.  They continue to touch our lives in ways which we never could have imagined when we founded The Inn at the Rustic Gate.  We cherish both what they bring to and what they take away from time spent here.  We are honored to provide a supportive environment which enables people to come together.  We nurture them and they in turn nourish us by affirming the ways in which we carry out our mission. We know this to be true:  In our diversity is our strength.

May it be so in our time.

Blessings to all and safe travels as you journey.

Marcia