I’m experiencing lots of change and goodbyes lately. My mum has sold and left this little house and garden for good, so we are storing away all the memories of afternoon teas, tree climbing, flower picking, cosy hugs and trampolining. And one of our sweet hens died overnight in the coop, so we are fare-welling her gentle presence in our lives too.
Have you noticed the trees are finally turning, their leaves changing colour and letting go? How golden and low the sunlight is during the day, casting long shadows and making deep contrasts of light and dark. And how early in the evening the darkness is falling, like a blanket with twinkling stars that makes you want to curl up in bed at 6pm and dream of the vast universe?
It feels like I re-learn how to be in the colder months. To switch my pace, to use the crisp energy of the mornings for going out and getting things done, to wind down earlier and bring my energy inside in the evenings, going with the flow of reflecting and shedding and surrendering to the simplicity of rest.
I’ve been reading Katy Bowman’s book Movement Matters. And thinking about her idea that movement is so much more than exercise, or the motion of our bodies.
It is the movement of food and products and services towards our house. The movement of other people’s bodies to provide us with these things. And the movement of the natural world, stirring, inviting, shaping and moving us. It is ecology.
Her essays inspire me to move within a global context. To consider the impact of our mostly sedentary lives here in Australia and to understand how our small daily choices and habits are connected to everything else on Earth.
Sedentarism is very much linked to consumerism, materialism, colonialism, and the destruction of the planet. If you’re not moving, someone else is moving for you, either directly, or indirectly by making STUFF to make not moving easier on you. You were born into a sedentary culture, so 99.9 percent of your sedentary behaviors are flying under your radar. Start paying attention. What do you see?
Katy Bowman
It’s heavy to pay attention and become aware. And also it reminds me that ‘we are the ones we’ve been waiting for’ (from Hopi elders prophecy in 2000). No one else is coming to fix things for us. Just start now. Start tiny. Speak, move, act, interact, collaborate, co-create. Be part of your local ecosystem (you already are anyway).
And if you need a soft place to be with these ideas try this documentary, Together We Grow. It is nearly 40 minutes, so set aside some time when you can, it’s heartwarming and worth every moment.
Much love,
Emily
