THE YELLOW-BRICK ROAD TO CURIOUS SUNSHINE
Sarah Iverson follows the universe’s imagination through mindful play By Halley Hadfield
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arah Iverson (MA Environmental Leadership, '18) is a “creative, a wellness entrepreneur, and an overall happy being,” she laughs. After earning her bachelor’s degree in graphic design, she began working in the corporate world. It didn’t take her long to realize the work was not aligned with her deep desire to be of service in a meaningful way. “I had a really cool logo and a mission, but I didn’t know logistics, and I didn’t know enough about who I was,” she says. “I didn't know as much about the history of injustices as well the history of the planet and how to show up advocating for global compassion." Iverson was drawn to Naropa because she gravitated toward Eastern modalities and loved the uniqueness of the MA Environmental Leadership program. “One of the things that caught my eye was the variety of courses the program offered. Not only did it touch on the traditional Buddhist ideologies, traditions, and meditation practice, but it also highlighted environmental justice and multiculturalism,” she says. “So, looking at racism and oppression and how that ties into environmental oppression opened my eyes to this nugget that I was missing in regard to how I show up as a Black woman in this world to 48
advocate for environmental justice, when Black people aren’t really the face of environmentalism.” In her graduate thesis, Iverson focused on the importance of mindfulness, meditation, and nature in Black communities. “As long as we’ve been oppressed and moved away from the privilege of being in nature, our voices have disappeared from that narrative because we weren’t allowed in these pure spaces: pure as in white. Growing up hearing, ‘Oh, Black people don’t do these things out in nature,’ has always made me ask why. I don’t see why we would restrict ourselves from exposure to nature if it’s healing for everyone and everything on this planet.” By the time Iverson graduated, she found her voice and her space to advocate. “At Naropa, we learned to follow the signs and synchronicities and let magic emerge,“ she says. And that’s exactly what she did. She named her business, Curious Sunshine, which focuses on invigorating liberation and authenticity through mindful play. This past November, it turned three.
