Rewilding with small things
2020 has been a year of transformation for me as I began to explore the idea of rewilding. Not necessarily howling at the moon or bathing naked in waterfalls, but more about my place in this more than human world. Recognising that we are intimately connected to something vast, beautiful and unknowable. In practice this has meant lots of reading, playing and creating. My soul journey began many years ago but took on new urgency after a serious illness in 2014. It has also been inspired by my involvement in a European Training Project called Jump - creating change through building and co-operation, recognising our place in nature, our potential to regenerate rather than destroy ourselves and our planet. Out of this melting pot came an exercise in polished clay balls……..the most powerful teaching tool I know:
Why make treasures from dirt?
To learn about the technical properties of building/making with earth
To reawaken the senses
To be mindful and lost in the process
To be creative and intuitive
To encourage and experience community and trust
To realise the beauty of the imperfect and wonder in small simple things
To highlight issues around recycling and resources……earth as precious and local
To work with hands, head and heart….. integrate hard and soft skills
To allow a safe space for failure/repairs….learn patience and resilience
To re-awaken the imagination by breathing life into soil with magic and stories……create belonging
To see/feel the power of circles and cycles in action
To practice self-care…..slow down, be gentle
To appreciate diversity in ourselves and nature
To think more deeply about how we measure success?
To understand and integrate our work, our relationships and our materials more deeply
To recognise the importance of process
To appreciate that we are nature and that everything is connected…..….soil is where we came from and what we will become.
To be the change…..to see/feel transformation in our hands.
