2021: keeping our focus on the positive aspects of transformation during this dark period

The Pilgrims' Nest is a place open to all pilgrims on their individual path of evolution, inviting them to rest their weary feet and to absorb the transforming energy of the place, to connect themselves with nature and with a simple life style, and consequently to (re)connect with their own unique authenticity.

 

Winter...

January hibernation



courageous family camping at the Nest in early February

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer...

new paths to explore at the Nest

 

and a labyrinth to discover...

 

 

 

abundance in the garden

 

 

 

 

 

campervans aplenty this year...

and jugglers, stargazers, moon worshippers...

...and always keeping up the music of course :-)

Autumn...

when everyone is gone after the summer, it's our time to hit the road...

 

life is beautiful indeed, and Light will prevail !

the Pilgrims' Nest
Labit
11580 Villardebelle
France

gps: N 43.004953 - E 2.424280

email:  pilgrimsnest@gmx.com
mobile:  +33 681250002

 

2020: keeping away from the madness of the world

 The Pilgrims' Nest is a place open to all pilgrims on their individual path of evolution, inviting them to rest their weary feet and to absorb the transforming energy of the place, to connect themselves with nature and with a simple life style, and consequently to (re)connect with their own unique authenticity.

 

Late winter view on the Pic de Bugarach and the snow capped Pyrenees from the top of the nearby Cantaloups hill

 

 

 

 

 

Images of 2020

Spring...

after the boxwood caterpillar plague, new growth of boxwood leaves !! :-)

 

the Nest, gracefully surrounded by forest

the fountain

Glorious golden raintree leaves coming out

salad ingredients straight out of nature

 

 

Summer...

 

 robin of the Nest

visitors' bivouac

 

children always having a good time at the Nest...

...as well as adults

hello there !

 Autumn...

 

misty and mysterious forest

the Nest's magnificent beech tree

 

 Love and greetings from...

 

 
the Pilgrims' Nest
Labit
11580 Villardebelle
France

gps: N 43.004953 - E 2.424280

email:  pilgrimsnest@gmx.com
mobile:  +33 681250002

 

2019: refocusing on the road again

The Pilgrims' Nest is a place open to all pilgrims on their individual path of evolution, inviting them to rest their weary feet and to absorb the transforming energy of the place, to connect with nature and with a simple life style, and consequently to (re)connect with their own unique authenticity.

A pilgrim's being has two sides, like the two sides of a coin: either he is on the road to some unspecified destination, the outside road... or if for some reason he isn't out there - for instance when bound by the practicalities of life requiring him to stay at home - he is still on a road but on a kind of inner road. The two sides are complementary, that which is not to be found on the outside road is to be found at home, and vice versa.
They are also temporary, each in their own respect, following natural cycles of coming and going, at times leading and at times following, like day and night, inhaling and exhaling, inseparably wrapping themselves around each other like a twin in the womb, or like the symbol of yin and yang.

Each one also carries inside of its being a significant dot of the counterpart.
Thus the pilgrim on the outside road is carrying the essence of his home with him at all times, finding nest warmth wherever along the road he puts his head to rest for the night. The road has more or less become his home, that's why he never really feels himself lost.
On the other hand the pilgrim on his inner road at home, he is carrying the experiences of the outside road with him, the uncertainties and unpredictabilities of it, the eternal change and never ending bends in the road, all of which he has learned to welcome and accept without his inner peace being disturbed by them, and which help him to deal gracefully with everyday life. 
And as for the Pilgrims' Nest, when living the pilgrim-at-home side of the duality, this pilgrim also brings the ones from the outside road right into his home, which makes the two seemingly opposite sides of the duality even more intertwined and integrated...

Over the first 10 years of the Pilgrims' Nest's existence it was mainly the pilgrim-at-home part who had the upper hand. Most of my time was spent at the Nest, welcoming everyone who came to stay for longer or shorter periods, also welcoming and organizing workshops, gatherings, concerts and retreats, and interrupted only every now and then with relatively short breaks on my travel bike. 
2018 had already marked a shift in this permanently-open-door attitude and that trend has been confirmed in 2019: less visitor-time, less time for organizing events at the Nest, and more travel-time...

So yes, it looks like from 2020 onwards this pilgrim is going to be found more and for longer periods on the road again. The coin has been flipped. This is the dawn of a new period of travels...

This being said, of course the Nest will continue to be a true nest for those who feel attracted to its nourishing energy. The numbers may become smaller, but the quality will remain the same, if not grow even better. To emphasize this, 2019 has brought some truly amazing visitors here and established beautiful heart connections.

Also, in order to make space for Christel's permanent painting workshop, the visitor's indoor space in the barn got resized and remodeled, and got cozier in the process according to several visitors.

So the story continues, following the heart's lead. The road ahead will thus always be the right one... :-)

Blessings for the new year.

Eddy

the Pilgrims' Nest
Labit
11580 Villardebelle
France

gps: N 43.004953 - E 2.424280

email:  pilgrimsnest@gmx.com
mobile:  +33 681250002

2018: winds of change

The Pilgrims' Nest is a place open to all pilgrims on their individual path of evolution, inviting them to rest their weary feet and to absorb the transforming energy of the place, to connect with nature and with a simple life style and consequently to (re)connect with their own unique authenticity...

Almost 10 years ago, in January 2009, the Pilgrims' Nest was born. It was a unique concept which began its slow but steady growth and development, an idea, a dream that became materialized (see 1st blog post December 2008). Now, at the end of 2018, it looks like we are finishing a chapter. It has been a time of welcoming many people from all corners of the world, but also a time of organizing concerts and events, hosting workshops, music sessions, exhibitions, gatherings... It's been a fascinating period of creation and manifesting, of exchange and cooperation, and at the same time of continuously searching for the right shape in continuously changing circumstances. In short, an intense and expansive 10 years.

Since this year however, inspired by deeper meaning and by the cycles of nature in which the Nest is embedded, a shift seems to have presented itself naturally, a more inward movement, introspective, a calming down of activities, a change, allowing the place to re-breathe. After all, a sustainable evolution doesn't necessarily mean growing more and bigger infinitely...
While from the outside this may look like making a U-turn in comparison with previous years, it doesn't mean that the Nest will be closing its doors, not at all. It will only be more selective in terms of who and what and when. The portal will remain open...

In parallel with this shift, a big change in the nature in and around the Pilgrim's Nest is also taking place with the arrival in the region of the boxwood moth. This moth, coming from Asia, looks like a small, innocent and even beautiful little creature, but because of the presence of many many millions of them (driving at night in summer they show up in your headlights like if you'd be driving through a hell of a snowstorm!) and its  very fast breeding cycle (3 to 4 generations per year) the effect here in the region is downright devastating.

the boxwood moth

boxwood moths in the shower cabin

Boxwood is a ubiquitous plant/shrub here in the hills of the Hautes Corbières. It grows abundantly everywhere in the wild, it even forms whole boxwood forests with old trees up to 8 meters tall with beautiful, irregularly shaped trunks. The neighbouring village of Bouisse is even named after it (the French word for boxwood is "buis", pronounced "bwi").

On our land boxwood is the most common plant species, it creates natural, visual separations between many cozy little corners and it also forms effective windbreaks against the frequent Tramontana winds. You could say that boxwood is the species that makes the place what it is.
But all that is bound to disappear completely due to the enormous voracity of the caterpillars which are produced in great numbers by the boxwood moths. In no time, they eat all the boxwood leaves and during the hottest 3 seasons they reproduce themselves in a rhythm of only 2 months, so that their numbers increase exponentially. A real tsunami in slow motion.

eggs of the boxwood moth, stuck against the bottom side of a boxwood leave

boxwood caterpillar

Both our land and the entire surrounding landscape are irrevocably undergoing a complete metamorphosis ...

dead boxwood shrubs

boxwood trees under attack, envelopped in creepy caterpillar webs

In an attempt to limit the damage and to not let the place become inaccessible by creepy tangles of webs usually left behind by the caterpillars, we were extremely busy this summer with secateur and chainsaw, with moth traps and with the one effective and organic pesticide on the market, based on bacillus thuringiensis. Perhaps it will turn out to be a plaster on an open wound and eventually we might lose the battle in the long run. Once the tsunami will have passed, it's highly probable that in the following years there will always be enough moths left behind to require constant vigilance and repeated actions, that's for sure.

trimming the boxwood forest next to the house

moth trap

Anyhow, the Nest already looks completely different now. Fortunately we have been able to save most of the boxwood hedges along the street side and elsewhere on our land from the first attacks this summer. For the time being that is. But countless young boxwood plants growing under the cedar trees have been pre-emtively eliminated, and of dozens of tall boxwood trees the branches have been removed and the trunk shortened to 2.5 m heigth, in the hope of saving more easily any new leaves from future attacks. 

All in all, this development has given the Nest a very different outlook. Many of the cozy, enclosed corners have been partially or completely lost, but on the other hand everything has also become more open, and consequently lighter and sunnier, allowing other plants to grow eventually. So also nature is re-breathing...

Thus, in a world full of changes, the Pilgrim's Nest is floating along on its waves. We let ourselves be carried forward on the flow of what is presenting itself naturally, either inner or outer. In the end, isn't that how the way of the pilgrim goes...?

Pilgrims' Nest
Labit
11580 Villardebelle, France  

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1x9WCvj4dOhJMWfDit4z62zg6ZBA&usp=sharing

gps: N 43.004953 / E 2.424280

email: pilgrimsnest@gmx.com
mobile: 0033 681250002