Unlikely Nutrients
Even though it was only 1 pm, it was already dark out. The sky was pressing down like a wet blanket. Walking home from the market, she knew that to get through this day she would need to summon another kind of energy to get through her long list of tasks that needed to be completed.
Where would she find the energy?
She looked up there between the grey clouds she thought she saw a glimmer. It flickered and vanished.
She kept walking. The sidewalk was covered in brown decomposing leaves; the remnants of autumn were everywhere.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, a flash appeared. She turned her head to see where it had come from, but she didn’t notice anything unusual. She didn’t notice anything capable of shining so much light.
Again she looked up. This time tucked amidst the clouds, she noticed many tiny stars. She reached up toward them, and as she did, she felt a rush of energy run down her arms through her chest and down into the rest of her body.
When she dropped her arms, she felt full of energy. She took her next few steps down the sidewalk and saw the city around her lighting up. Even the greyest street corners began to feel warm. She continued on her way.
….
Have you ever found yourself looking for something you weren’t sure was there?
Perhaps something that felt like it was hovering just beyond your reach?
So far, 2023 seems to be a year of reaching just beyond what I can see. I feel challenged yet invigorated and alive. To meet this moment, I feel the need to calibrate the process so I don’t push myself too far beyond what I feel is manageable.
There are days when I feel sensitive. Days when I want to curl up into a little ball on a patch of cool moss somewhere deep in the lush forests of a place that feels like home.
Yet there are other days when I feel enlivened by the city sounds. The grit and novelty around every corner. On these days, I feel energized by the opportunity to learn from my surroundings, to respond to what I encounter, and to reach beyond the surface of the moment.
As I reflect on how I’ve been navigating this chapter, two thoughts stand out that have been supporting me. First, the most important work I do happens through me.
Second, there are unlikely nutrients within and around me, that I can draw upon.
What I’m listening to:
In this dynamic and thought-provoking conversation, authors Sophie Strand and Ayana Young weave insights from myth, thousand-year-old wisdom, and insights from fungi to explore the potential of relationally and love.
From speaking about the need for compost to challenges of the current dominant climate narrative. This conversation invited me to catch some of the lenses I’ve been looking through without even knowing it and flip them upside-down to consider some current societal challenges in a very different way. Both of these women are poetic and beautifully articulate, which makes this conversation delightful and enriching to listen to.
The Places in Which We Find Ourselves: Sparking a Dynamic Relationship with Place
$100.00
Friday, April 14th, 4:30-6:30pm PDT/ Saturday, April 15th, 9:30-11:30 AEST
Friday, April 21st, 4:30-6:30pm PDT / Saturday, April 22nd, 9:30-11:30 am AEST
For many of us, the past few years have brought up questions of place and belonging. Perhaps we ended up stuck somewhere for longer than we wished. Maybe we moved to a new city or culture, or perhaps we are in the process of asking ourselves where we truly want to live and plant our roots.
In March, I am excited to be offering a two-part class exploring place and the space where inner and outer nature meet.
This is a class for people who not only want to cultivate a relationship with the place around them and understand how they can engage with it in reciprocal ways, but it is also for those who wish to discover a larger identity, one in which self and place merge and support each other in dynamic and creative ways. Learn more here