I’ve been sky writing from time that come 14 July I’m on holiday. I’m away from work. I’m not answering any of your emails, WhatsApp messages, demands or urgencies. I’m off the clock.
Because of the weather, this holiday time has come a day early. And I’m bubbling with excitement.
I’m having no leaky boundaries here. I’m gonna protect my down time. I’m gonna have a complete switch off to recharge my batteries.
This feeling of excitement reminds me of when I was a kid and the summer holidays stretched out in front of me. So much time to explore and play and just be.
I embrace this feeling now with so much joy and gratitude that I’m open for what adventures lie ahead. Adventures of my own making as I’m the adult now not the kid. I’m not beholden to anyone else’s whims or demands or plans. Whatever happens over the coming month or so is all of my own doing. And I love the sound of that. The feel of that.
Today I’m grateful that a project which has been 2 years in the planning is finally coming to fruition.
Black Nature in Residence rides again but this time bigger and better. Five creatives in five Northern National Parks. Working with identity on tyne again, we’re proud to make things happen in the creative and cultural industries for others who look like us.
As I was saying over in the introduction to the recent episode released from The Earth Sea Love Podcast, apart from the year flying by, May was the month that kicked my butt. It’s officially going down as the worst month of 2023, so far for me. But hey I’m still here to tell the tale and I’m grateful for that.
I have to give some credit to still being here and getting through the trenches down to my walking practice of May. I completed the Mamathon as hosted by Girltrek and clocked up 53 miles. Of course I did more walking than that in May but these are the miles that were recorded with my Garmin watch. Just trying to keep everything recorded so I knew when I hit the miles, I knew I was banking them towards this challenge.
I’m so glad I took up this task. I started it with Miss Ella and finished it with Miss Ella yesterday afternoon. Even though she was full of cold she joined me to mark the occasion. I also went over on my right foot again. Same place / same injury as the one that stopped me completing the West Highland Way last year. But I’ve been icing and elevating it as well as walking on it today. A bit swollen and bruised but okay to walk on.
And I’m pleased about that as I would be most upset if I was out of action again just when I feel as if I’ve gotten into some kind of walking routine. Girltrek are running their Black History Bootcamp podcast this year again, which entails 21 days of meditations of Black stories are shared. So I’m just gonna keep on walking in June to the sounds of this podcast and clock up some more miles.
The West Highland Way is on again this year. Birthday week with dear friend, Alex, we’re walking the way together. More details to follow. Already excited about completing it. See what I did there? The power of positive energy. It usually get’s me through. Got me through May. Thank you very much.
I totally forgot yesterday, My head was down as I concentrate on my essay I’m writing. But today I remember. And I’ve signed up. The Rise Up Rooted Symposium is live. Check out the schedule for the free virtual symposium about about nature, connection and rewinding.
My conversation is live tomorrow then I share about my relationship with the sea and the healing properties. But there are some ready to be watched now. It’s free to join. Just add your emails and start watching. You can upgrade to an all access pass which means you get to watch all the videos in your own time and pace. I’ll get a percentage of the fee. But no pressure. Watch for free and tell me what you think.
“Cut, Torn & Mended is an online exhibition which celebrates the contributions of (m)others to the collage community. With a range of different styles and techniques, this exhibition allows us to explore the diverse ways in which contemporary artists use collage in their practices. With many of the artworks for sale at affordable prices, it is a wonderful way to add to your collection and support these wonderful artists to continue making.” Lauren McLaughlin, Founding Director.
To accompany the exhibition is a limited edition Cut, Torn & Mended Zine. A5 (210 x 148mm) Full colour zine, 42 pages, perfect bound with laminated silk cover.
Each zine includes an A3 full colour cut-out sheet so you can make a collage inspired by the exhibition!
Pre-order your copy before 21st May and get 20% off with the code COLLAGE20. You’ll get it for £8 instead of £10.
There are 30 artists featured in the exhibition. My piece is within the Mended section. The artists include:
Adele Annett, Amy Whiten, Alexa Mazzarello, Alexandra Kiss, Ashley Fotheringham, Beverley Hood, Diana Salomon, Ellie Shipman, Emily YCL, Jan Ferguson, Jennifer Milarski-Stermsek, Jessie McNeil, Jodie house, Kate Cameron Reid, Kate Marsden, Kathryn Rodrigues, Kim Hopson, Kirsty Whiten, Lauren, Evans, Lynn Murphy, Megan Jacobs, Montserrat Serra Nonell, Rebecca Clouâtre, Sally Butcher, Sana Burney, Sarah Shotts, Sharon Lee Hart, Sheree Mack, Twiggy Boyer, Yagama.
As my great nana Rosa ( the wee ginger lass who hooked up with the Ghanaian sailor) used to ask, ‘How you fizzing?’
There was a time when people lived their lives in deep connection with the Natural world. We lived, worked, ate, and designed our days and even our homes around the cycles and seasons of the planet, in sync with the Earth we depend on. That connection kept us grounded, mindful, and, in many ways, healthier in mind and body.
Today, research shows that 93% of our lives are spend indoors – and that was before the pandemic!
You don’t even have to be a nature lover to know that can’t be good for us. In fact, we’re coming to understand that so many of the world’s most pervasive problems – from heart disease, depression, and poor sleep, to droughts, wildfires, and rising oceans – can be traced to our personal and societal disconnection from the Earth and from our own “true nature” as humans.
That is why I’m delighted to share with you today an upcoming event created specifically to address this damaging disconnection with simple, practical tools you can apply to your life right away – no matter how busy you are.
🌳 The Rise Up Rooted Global Wellness Symposium 🌳
Reconnect with the Earth, Reawaken Your True Nature, and Rewild Your Busy Life!
I’m proud to be a featured speaker at this event where I’ll be talking about healing with/in nature. I’ll be talking on WEDNESDAY, MAY 17th and it will be available for participants to watch for 48 hours.
And don’t worry – this event isn’t going to monopolize your week. Alex is committed to serving busy people so none of the interviews run longer than 45 minutes. So you’re sure to get all of the wisdom and none of the fluff.
Here are some of the other topics you can look forward to during this info-packed week:
🍃 Digital Detox: How to Rewild Your Brain and Body with Tracy James
🍃 Food, Nature, & Human Health with Robin Richardson
🍃 The Natural Path to Beauty & Self-Care with Face Yoga with Danielle Collins
🍃 Heal Your Home, Heal Your Body with Charlie Lemmer
🍃 Exploring Ancient Wisdom in Nature for Challenging Times with Beth Norcross
🍃 Pachamama is Calling with Mariela Maya
🍃 Nature as Creative Muse with Cathy Nichols
🍃 How to Use the Metaphor and the Wisdom of the Five Seasons to Guide and Inspire Us withKaryn Prentice & Elaine Patterson
🍃 Black British Women: Reclaiming the Landscape withSheree Mack ( WEDNESDAY, MAY 17th and will be available for participants to watch for 48 hours).
🍃 Guiding Changemakers from Burnout to Renewal withDevorah Brous
🍃 Regenerative Design for Life and Landscape with Keri Evjy
🍃 The Healing Power of Trees in Cities with Jackee Holder
🍃 Telling Your Own Nature Story from Your Soul with Devorah Spilman
🍃 Bringing Children Back Into Nature with Ellen Dee Davidson
🍃 Walking in Nature: The 20-Minute Miracle Cure with Alex Strauss
…and many more!
You really don’t want to miss this.
You can attend the Rise Up Rooted Global Wellness Symposium completely FREE. When you register, you’ll be notified each day when the various interviews are available.
PS – The amount of practical wisdom you will get access to for FREE during this event has the potential to dramatically change the rest of 2023 for you (not to mention the rest of your life!) I recommend you make the time. Click here to register.
PPS – Got a friend who could use a dose of Nature’s medicine? Please forward this invitation. All are welcome!
I’ve been leaning into my gratitude practice, but sometimes I’ve forgotten and let the simple task of listing one thing per day for which I am grateful for, slide.
What can I say, habits are made to be broken as well as upheld. And the bad habits always seem to be the ones we hold onto. While those habits that can actually benefit us and bring some joy, peace and happiness into our lives, we fuck up!
Gratitude is one of them. Gratitude helps people feel more positive about their lives. It fosters positive emotions as people reflect and savour and relish good experiences and events and relationships.
Gratitude improves people’s health and makes them more satisfied with what they have rather than focusing time and energy and regret on what they do not have.
It’s been proven that being more grateful makes you happier.
Well I could always do with being happier. Everyone could. And that is not to say that I’m not grateful for the life I have, the life I’m living and the people in it. But I could do with a reminder and become more consistent in my appreciation and gratitude.
Hence the next 28 days of gratitude. Holding myself to account in order to re-engage with this positive habit and hold on to happiness.
I want to wring out as much gratitude for each experience and happening and being in my life as I can. As life is a gift but sometimes I forget. So today we begin again.
It’s day one of my gratitude practice.
Today I am grateful for the lie in I managed to have before being woke up.
But I’m not complaining as I was woke up by Miss Ella for a cuddle. I’m grateful for my morning cuddle in bed with my daughter.
I’m grateful today for the hot black fresh brewed coffee that helped me wake up fully and engage with the day.
I’m grateful to have completed a big application and submitted it today and it helped to have company while completing this work.
I’m grateful for the time I got to be alone and focus on the tasks I had to complete today and not be distracted or interrupted.
I’m grateful today for the chocolate I managed to stuff into my face after said application was complete and I could rest
I’m grateful to be able to lie in bed now, warm and sleepy and write this gratitude list without having to think too hard about what or who I am grateful for today because I have ample choices to draw upon to share.
The Natural world – from the heavens to our gardens – has so much to give and to teach us
I just manage to get this note in under the wire as today still is in the month of April. But this month has been a busy one. If not being away dog and house sitting then one of birthday celebrations, as both my babies were born in April. I have also been trying to crack on with a commissioned essay, and managed to present something decent at the final event in connection to my exhibition at the BALTIC.
Coming out of my hibernation into a full on month has had its trials and tribulations. But I know what has kept me on the straight and narrow and mostly full of joy has been my connection with nature.
I missed the sea at the beginning of the month, because I was land locked. But this was an ideal time to appreciate the blossom. Cherry blossom, apple blossom, plum blossom, pear.
I’ve always loved on blossom. The blousy pink and white blooms, just fill me with joy and gratitude. I’ve been putting myself in the path of beauty as Cheryl Strayed would argue. Then once I returned back to the North-East it was time to reacclimatise with the sea after an almost three week break. And it was painful. But I needed to get back in, to get close with her, and remind myself that I am alive. And this life is a gift. The sea, along with nature as a whole, is my medicine. And I feel it deep when I am not taking my medicine, through choice, circumstances or self-neglect.
Nature is always there for me when I’m in need or guidance. And I’m grateful for this connection. Even while I worry that we are losing more and more species and ecosystems, I keep faith and hope that we can work together to recognise and reconnect with ourselves, each other and nature to bring about systematic change to benefit all species, and the generations to come. Even in the little ways we show up for nature all count in the grand scheme of things, I think. This is why I’m excited about
🌳 The Rise Up Rooted Global Wellness Symposium 🌳
Join me on May 15th and let the Natural world lead you back home to yourself!
🌳 The Rise Up Rooted Global Wellness Symposium 🌳
Reconnect with the Earth, Reawaken Your True Nature, and Rewild Your Busy Life!
I’m delighted to be a featured speaker at this free global event, created by my friend Alex Strauss to serve busy people all over the world. The 5-Day Rise Up Rooted Global Wellness Symposium, May 15 – 19, is your invitation to devote a few quiet minutes each day to your own well-being. I’ll be sharing more about my connection with nature and how she helped me fall in love with myself and others as part of a panel of 20+ featured speakers. From these authors, coaches, speakers, physicians, teachers, and healers, you’ll learn practical ways to…
Clear space in your life to connect with the healing and uplifting power of the Earth, even when life is crazy busy
Find hope and inspiration for uncertain times
Learn simple, Natural self-care practices you can use anywhere
Boost immunity, beat stress, and re-energize by growing and eating your own organic herbs and vegetables
Reignite your creative spirit
Bring the life-affirming power of “forest bathing” into your everyday life (even if you don’t have a forest near you)
Attune to the seasons and cycles of the Earth (and stop working against them!)
Recognize and apply “life lessons” from the Natural world
Become more intentional about the time you spend outdoors…and indoors
Embrace the power of mindfulness in Nature to quiet your busy brain
This isn’t like any nature-focused event you’ve seen before. During this five-day journey, you’ll learn not only WHY we all need more Nature now, but also HOW to integrate more Nature into your daily life, and exactly WHAT to do when you you do get outside.
Note: This event was created for busy people. None of these pre-recorded interviews are longer than 45 minutes, so it’s easy to watch or listen during the day, whenever it’s convenient for YOU!
I really hope you’ll decide to invest a few hours between May 15 and May 19 with me and the other speakers. I know you will come away renewed, recharged, reconnected, and ready to tackle whatever comes next!
PS – Don’t worry if your bare feet haven’t touched the Earth for months or you’re not a gardener. The Rise Up Rooted Global Wellness Symposium is NOT about any one way to connect with the Earth. Instead, it’s about simple, practical steps we can all take in our day-to-day lives to be healthier, happier, and more peaceful in body and mind. (Some of them can even happen while you sleep!) CLICK HERE to RSVP now.
Living Wild Studios 