Dear Family and Friends,
As many of you already know, the Polestar Temple and main house burned to the ground about two weeks ago. It is a profound loss and many of us are in various stages of shock, disbelief, grieving and disorientation, but also, feeling an immense gratitude for all we have been privileged to share there. So many truly beautiful memories with so many dear friends come to mind as we see this event from the perspective of ‘ending’. The countless hours of deep meditation, creative service, kirtans, meals, events, tropical fruits and flowers, holiday celebrations, camps, sports; the depth of the friendships; the kindness and open-ness; the music!: ten amazing years of a life well worth living. We have begun collecting memories and well wishes from friends and if you feel to share something, you can do so below.
This shot taken from a drone before the eruption.
Though we have lost a good number of buildings, reports of Polestar’s demise have been greatly exaggerated! Honestly, I think we may just be warming up! Our ideals of ‘Spirit, Community and Life-long Learning’ haven’t gone anywhere and as we are all still alive and well, we are called to live for these. Very probably, the full-blown vision of our community at that particular location, with school and Ageless Living Center, is over now, and it is not yet clear what role it will play in Polestar’s future. With a handful of useful buildings left, and the likelihood that much of the farm and grounds will recover quickly, the next several months will largely be a clean-up and salvage operation (‘rubble sifting’ a neighbor called it!) to explore ‘what is trying to happen’ there. Beyond this, we are not in a huge hurry to chart a new course.
This is a unique time of life for us and a great opportunity to completely surrender our preconceptions in order to allow for the best of the infinite possibilities to emerge. Thankfully, we do not lack for offers. There are opportunities for Polestar to continue serving on the Big Island and beyond and we can imagine this process continuing to unfold in the next 6-12 months. For right now we want to honor what is past, celebrate the beauty of our all our friendships with so many of you, and meditate deeply on what is yet to come. Before we are once again pre-occupied with the ‘next great thing’, I want to say again to each of you how much you have meant to us in this journey. We will never forget the kindness, generosity, love and prayers you have offered us and what comfort and joy it has provided throughout such a beautiful and difficult time. Those of you who have been to ‘pre-eruption’ Polestar hold a special place in our hearts. If you have yet to find your way there, stay tuned for opportunities to visit coming soon!
Ann, Abram and I have spent the last few weeks at Ananda Village, helping with the new temple at ‘builders week’, and drinking in an entire week of inspiration at their annual Spiritual Renewal Week. This is the place of our spiritual birth and it has been incredibly healing to spend such quality time with so many deep souls and dear friends; ‘like landing in a big hug’ as Ann put it! We will continue to travel for the next few weeks visiting family and friends and be back ‘on island’ at the beginning of the month. Kirtans will begin again soon thereafter and it will be irresistible to have one amidst the rubble back on the farm: stay tuned for details!
Sending each of you all of our deepest love, friendship and gratitude,
~ Michael Gornik
Some Images of Polestar Before and After the Eruption
