Home for Sale: Toni's going around the Bend--in a good way
Many of you who live in the Central Oregon area know Toni Ryan, the executive director of Saving Grace (formerly COBRA) for the past 13 years. After years of dedicated parenting, helping to heal thousands of families and serving Central Oregon in a humble, quiet, profound way, Toni is retiring from her job in November and is off to explore! She will be starting out as a tour guide and will see where that takes her--probably to a life of service in another part of the world, in a very different venue.
Toni's selling her home, giving away most of her possessions, and freeing herself of many of the things that might bind her as she finds her new home in the bigger world. And as the economic travails deepen--this is obviously an even bigger leap of faith.
Toni and I took a wee pilgrimage to the Oregon coast early in May so that she could receive an award for her remarkable community service. On that trip 2 things became evident to me: that she and I would be fast friends--probably forever-- and that I was to do whatever I could to help her on her path to freedom and realization.
So here, without her asking me to post it, is Toni's house sale info; it just went on the market June 13. It's an excellent deal: $215,000 list price for a 3 bedroom/2 bath, mature landscaping, sweet backyard, well kept up. Toni's sweet ju-ju infuses this really charming home (I'm no realtor, but I know charm when I see it!)
Some of you Bend-ites may be interested in this great deal--AND some of you from other parts of the country may be interested as well. If you haven't heard, Bend is an amazing place to live and thrive!
Fortune shines on both the buyer and the seller of this home...
Happy trails, Toni--and I sure hope you choose to become a blogger on this site so that we can vicariously thrill to your explorations!
Beth
The Virtual Tea House website became 'word-ripe' when, over a cup of jasmine green, I realized that the web has an expanding part to play in the communal aspects of spiritual growth.
One of my favorite hats, among several is: initiated firekeeper in the Sacred Fire Community. Hosting a monthly community fire circle, I'm being taught that the simple act of sitting around a fire with the intent of holding open-hearted space makes for some soulful community!
With a master's degree in religion, my career spans 20 years in end of life care and I currently work in the field of child abuse intervention and advocacy.
Here in beautiful Central Oregon, my spiritual homes of the high desert and the mountains are both in proximity. And for good measure, four hours away is Grandmother Ocean and the stunning Oregon Coast.
I'm making decent progress on the goal set by my mother early on: she taught us that the goal of humanity should be to become ever-more eccentric, i.e. more fully human.
Entering the 'forest-dweller' phase of life, I am honored to host the Virtual Tea House for all who wish to explore how our lives are enriched and made new a thousand times each day by the spirituality we embody. Exploring this engagement together is the purpose of the Virtual Tea House.
Welcome! Let's have a cup of virtual tea together and share what brings us joy, what we are being taught by life, how we are leaning into the Big Questions posed to us each day in sometimes 'distressing disguises'.