The Thread We Follow: Fall Letter from Oren Slozberg
October 21, 2026
The Way It Is
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
—William Stafford
October 2026
Dear Friends,
There’s a thread you follow.
This is the first line from a poem by William Stafford that we read at the start of many of our Commonweal gatherings. It reminds me of why we do what we do—what we are called to do.
Commonweal is a community that evolves and changes. It is a different community than it was when Michael Lerner founded it in 1976, and when he and Rachel Naomi Remen launched our cancer work 10 years later. I can’t begin to imagine what it will look like in 2076, 50 years from now.
When Michael was first walking down Poplar Street in Bolinas and saw a ray of sunshine lighting up the RCA building, he received a message to create a center for healing ourselves and healing the Earth. And that message became the thread that we and our work still follow.
It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change.
Things have changed a lot in the last 50 years. The mid 1970s was just the beginning of our widespread awareness of climate change and the dangers toxicants pose to our health. Gerald Ford was president, and the country was reeling from Watergate and its undermining of American democracy. It was still the Cold War, and the nuclear threat kept children awake at night. Neoliberalism was emerging and personal computers were in their very infancy. Integrative medicine was considered wacky, and healing was for hippies (as was Bolinas). In our first eight years, Commonweal was a clinic in the old RCA building, and the primary purpose was to provide access to new modalities of integrative medicine dedicated to healing.
Today, the field has caught up with us. Most hospitals have nutritionists, gyms, and meditation rooms. The Cold War has evolved into a new multi-super-power race. Issues that were in their infancy in the 70s have become global existential challenges. Technology has reached horizons only imagined on Star Trek, and democracy is even more challenged than during Watergate. The nuclear threat is just as real, though it has been overshadowed by the other challenges. Throughout all of this, Commonweal has deepened our commitment to our core values. Expanding our reach into new communities and facing the polycrisis with the same innovation with which we approached cancer. We have kept our eye on the edge of innovation.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
I often get asked, “What is Commonweal doing? Is it a retreat center?” Yes. “Is it a healing center?” Yes. “Is it for people with cancer?” Yes. “Is it a summer camp?” Yes. “Environmental health research center?” Yes. “Is it about resilience and the polycrisis?” Yes.
We are home to more than 30 programs that share our commitment to healing and resilience. It might be hard to explain the Commonweal thread, but it can be felt and experienced, especially on our land in Bolinas.
Our work is diverse, but always centers healing people and healing the Earth. Every year Pacific House is home to more than 10 weeks of the Cancer Help Program, led by Michael and Cancer Help Program Director Arlene Allsman—along with a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. The same space hosts the Power of Hope, a week-long summer camp for Bay Area teens in which art and creativity become a pathway to self awareness and community.
Continuing our history as a convener for innovation, in our 50th year we gathered thought leaders, practitioners, funders, policy makers, educators, and artists for several retreats to further their fields and find ways to apply the knowledge. We support programs for BIPOC leaders (Octavia Fund, Platform Impact Leaders Fellowship, Somos El Poder); build resilience capacities for individuals and communities (Emergency Training Collective, Retreat Center Collaboration, and the Commonweal Resilience Project); and bring art and healing into schools and the healthcare system (Arts as Apothecary; Visual Thinking Strategies; and Collaborations: Teachers & Artists).
Our community works around the world, but we have three main land-based sites. In addition to the site where our Retreat Center and Main Building sit, the Commonweal Garden, under the stewardship of Dr. Anna O’Malley, weaves together nature and medicine on a beautiful site across the field from the Main Building. On Whidbey Island, Washington, the Healing Circles Langley building hosts circles and workshops every day, a true community-based healing center.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Facing the realities we see today, it is sometimes hard to remember the beauty of nature and the joy of friendship. Working with cancer patients for 40 years, we have seen many friends die. Our thread allows us to face hardships and stay committed not to getting lost. Commonweal Healing Circles is one human technology that helps us weave the threads. It helps build and sustain the resilience we need when facing challenges, so that we can still see the wholeness in all of us.
At Commonweal we explore the global challenges as much as we do the personal ones. And we also act. Michael calls Commonweal “a think and do tank,” a flexible instrument of human service. We have webinars, convenings, and publications that deepen the discourse in civil society and philanthropy. We hold trainings on basic emergency skills that will be needed in the future—creating programs that help change our worldview to be more resilient and open. Commonweal's Innovative Learning and Living Institute has been successfully experimenting with such immersive retreats for the last few years.
I am reminded of refugia, that small grove of trees that survives after a forest fire: the depository of the seeds and animals for the future regenerated forest. Commonweal, with land-based community partners, is helping to guide and strengthen places that will be the source of growth and renewal during and after any potential challenges. Sources of culture, value, basic needs, and democracy. Our Retreat Center Collaboration brings together centers to figure out how to strengthen their resilience. We know that the real source of resilience in times of need is always local. It is our calling to strengthen that.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
And we don’t. We are committed to be here for future generations. Pursuing our calling of resilience, community, and healing.
There are many ways to help us hold on to this thread. One of the most important ways is through your generosity. You can send us a check or contribute online. A recurring monthly donation is especially valuable. So are annual or one-time gifts. Another powerful way to contribute is to include Commonweal in your estate planning. If you are considering a major gift, an unusual gift, or want to tell us about your estate planning, please don’t hesitate to contact me or Arlene Allsman. We’d be delighted to explore your thoughts with you.
Supporting Commonweal means you want to be part of our work, this fabric, and our community. Contribute what you can. Give what you feel called to give.
Our hope is that we, as a community, travel through each unfolding with some grace, healing together in widening circles that reach out across the world. Thank you for being part of our beloved Commonweal community of friends. And never let go of that thread.
With gratitude,
Oren Slozberg
Executive Director, Commonweal
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Top photo credit: Kyra Epstein
