What a full on start to 2020! The grief of these times...
I wish I could say we’ve been feeling all the positives of beginning a new decade and a new year.
The truth however, is the beginning of 2020 has been quite mixed.
Celebrating when such a huge environmental crisis is unfolding in Australia just hasn’t felt right.
The pain of knowing how may animals and forests have been razed to the ground has been intense.
Seeing so many people in our communities struggling with the force and anger of these fires has been deeply stressful and exhausting.
We haven’t even made it to what is typically the hottest part of our summer and we have already seen catastrophic events unfold throughout Australia.
We all know we have come to a cross roads that will define the path for our future generations.
We all know that the time has come for a dramatic cultural transformation that literally leaves no stone unturned in learning a new way forward.
Normally businesses at this time of year send happy 2020 messages and invitations to work together. But for now, what feels more real than ‘business as usual’ is to first pause and recognise the grief and pain which has marked the beginning of 2020.
I know you are a member of our community because you are awake, because you can feel more than the typical person, because you can see.
I see you as a change agent in the world today and even if you are not clear on your path – I can feel that your contribution is critical.
It doesn’t matter if you believe you are more or less awake than others, the truth is we are all equals and we all stand together on the same burning ground.
We are all feeling the deep rumbling within the earth as she puts her foot down and readies herself to cast off what no longer serves her.
When you really lean into the heart of our current cultural story it feels like such a tumultuous and massive wave.
I know you have been leaning in and feeling it all... I also know that this means you are hurting.
Hurting so deeply that at times there’s nothing to be done.
Hurting so deeply all you can do is sit and cry and feel all of our mixed-up story that is heaving through your bones, your breath and your body.
In Arnhem Land when Yolngu community members are feeling the deepest of pain and distress, the women cry.
They cry through song.
They cry through sounds that penetrate into everyone’s hearts, allowing the full flow of grief to masterfully move through.
Traditional crying, milkarri, allows everyone to feel and remember their bodily connection to that which has been lost and the forces that create life and country.
Those forces are the very real ancestors that are alive in the moment, alive through the land and whose bodies form the very creation we live within.
The women cry so that grief can be made to move and truth can be remembered.
The women cry so that grief’s impossible wave of anguish can be danced and transformed, leaving behind only a deep open silence - the source of creation.
As humans born into a Western worldview we don't hold ancient, ancestral songs with the power to transport a whole community’s perception through the land - to see the truth that is held there.
Yet as a human born of this earth your body holds this instinctual ability.
This power is still within you.
I would invite you to play with the belief that as a connected, awake human you can feel this truth I speak of.
I invite you to sit on the land, alone or in the presence of others.
To place your hands on the ground and risk opening yourself up, to intentionally feel the waves of your pain.
The pain of the charred animals that perished in the most horrible of circumstances.
The collective pain of our brothers and sisters, the pain of the land.
And know that from this place you have every right to cry.
You have every right to allow the truth of the fires to flow through you - for the fires to become your sovereign responsibility, your personal song and power.
I invite all in our community to seek mastery with the flow of grief so we can make this anguished pain count for something.
Remembering our human capacity to embrace grief and master emotional flow is a critical piece in the regeneration of our culture.
A culture without deeply personal pathways for the flow of grief is a culture with out power and without silence at it's core.
I recognise that you too will have your own story of grief through these times. I would love to hear from you and be witness to you.
Just email info@naturephiloosphy.com.au to reach me.
May we all stand together and remember our sacred duty as caretakers of this earth.
Picture Source of Koala saved in the fires: Unknown
PROGRAMS
At the end of last year we had quite a few members of our community ask for more information about our 2020 in-person programs and online coaching journeys.
We understand it’s customary in business to be in touch at the beginning of a New Year with news of our mission and how we can work together in the coming year.
We’re getting there!
It just feels better to first recognise the enormity of these times we all find ourselves in.
Feel free to be in touch if you are ready to connect, otherwise you can expect to hear from us in the coming weeks about our 2020 program offerings.
Thank you so much for being you, I am grateful we are together on the journey…
In Connection,
Kate
Kate Rydge
Nature Philosophy, Co-Founder
info@naturephilosophy.com.au