Mushrooms
We are now firmly in wild mushroom season. If you’d asked me two months ago if I’d reach the point within a two month period, that I could confidently eat 10 wild mushroom varieties then I’d not have believed you. I’m hugely aware of the risk of getting it wrong, and, unlike in other regards, when it comes the possibility of dying from eating a mushroom, I’m not interested in spinning the wheel + hoping for the best. However, I’ve surprised myself.
The Mothership
My whole life really has led to this point. I have never been one to follow the status quo. I have always been striving for something different + something more. Since the beginning of 2020, I have been 'encouraged' to do even more, initially out of the perceived need, but now more + more out of the joy that comes from creating this life with even stronger foundations than I had before.
Freedom of choice
Our choices right now are everything. We may feel that we are having limitations put on us left, right + centre, and that life may be a bit trickier for those of us who choose a particular way, but ultimately we do have choice, and with that comes freedom.
12 (+) years of Motherhood
As I am moving into my 40s in just a month or so now, I realise how true it is that, regardless of having a physical child or not, how much important work we are called to do through this stage of our lives as a woman. Our 30s + 40s call upon us to really know who we are + the gifts that we bring to this world. More + more women of this age are breaking free from the chains that society has tried to pin them down with, and they are realising their potential.
Foraging - My Journey So Far
As humans we are designed to be connected to our surroundings, to nature, to the food that nature provides. Going out for a walk + slowly moving through the land, mindfully, looking around with calm purpose, is incredibly meditative. It is SO calming for the nervous system, I cannot tell you. It is SO natural! It is a forgotten part of who we are, but it is one that I am ready to fully remember, and I am committed to helping others do the same.
Tying up loose ends
In November, I turn 40 and one thing that is coming up in me though is the feeling of change within me as this new decade comes upon me. It isn't because I am spending time thinking really at all about my upcoming 40s, it is in most ways just a number to me, but it is interesting to observe the subtle but noticeable shifts in my mindset around what I want for myself over the next years of my life.
Winding Down & Preparing
This year has seen me learn a lot about growing my own food. We designed + built our own kitchen garden in the back of our house, and I set to work growing in it. One of the things I have learnt is that waiting until March is not ideal to properly have a chance of growing your own garden. Whilst the winding down is happening now, the preparation is too.
Ready for another year of homeschooling
We have learnt so much, and no doubt have more to learn. I am so grateful for the additional sovereignty this experience has brought us all as a family. I truly believe that most families would love the experience of homeschooling too, despite inevitable hesitations, I feel confident most would find great joy in making it work in their own way. Even if homeschooling isn’t for you (in which case I suspect you won’t have reached this far into this blog), I do believe there are many ways you can work to bring your family back to you a little more, and this year has seen me grow a real passion to help as many families as possible do that.
She is Mother
Then one day the earth around her shook. It shook so hard, that cracks started to form around her body. The earth started to part and glimmers of her light started to shine through. She knew there was no hiding anymore. She knew that the time was now.
Rise Mother Rise
You are the vessel of creation.
Creation of life.
Creation of harmony.
Creation of beauty.
Creation of love.
Creation of peace.
Creation of abundance.
Is recovery ever complete?
For those who don’t know, for a multitude of reasons, I suffered with an eating disorder in my late teens, all the way through my 20s. When I became pregnant with Caleb at 28 I stopped starving myself + purging if I ate over a specific amount of calories per day. I decided I would look after myself, for him (not yet for me). After he was born, I regressed slightly, but when he was two my world was flipped upside down. I met my friend Ania, who at the time was training to be a Health Coach, and she opened my eyes to a world which led me to create a true connection with my body, based on respect. I think having just had a baby, seeing the miracle of life, of the human body, first hand in that way, really helped cement for me how miraculous my own body was, and I really felt called to truly care for it.
The Song of the Child
Last week I was listening to an incredible conversation about the schooling system (must listen from Mamalution, episode 49 on the schooling system, which you can find here), and it was mentioned about The Song of the Child from Namibia. I was so touched by the story that I wanted to research it more and share it with you all here. With my research I have not found the detail I had hoped for, but in fact discovered that it may not even be true, so today I am going to share ‘the story’ that has been shared, and then reflect on why, true or not, it touched me, and why I feel the ethos behind it is really relevant to the work we are doing to (re)discover our truth + our purpose.
Growth of the Soil - Growth of the Soul
…now we have our garden. Today I was going to write about how it makes me feel. Let me tell you quickly how it makes me feel, but I have more to share, which came as a surprise as I sat to prepare to write this earlier today.
Reflections from a sick bed
My sickness has healed a lot in my family. I can feel it. It has acted as a reset for us all. The power of surrender and the belief in the human body to heal holds so much power. I am grateful for my experience. It was really tough, but I am grateful. One week in to having recovered, and I am excited to move forward.
Taking back sovereignty + abolishing fear
The world is changing no matter what we believe as to why what happened last year happened, and the ONLY way to really be able to direct how our own lives move, and to step out of fear, is to take full responsibility for every element of our lives that we can. We have been trained into outsourcing every element of our lives for too long, but when we take back the reins, we take back the control. We are the majority. That is all we need to remember. And when the majority don’t ‘need’ them, then they have no control.
Free•dom
I am currently working with an incredible man to get really clear on how I move forward with the work I am here to do in this world. How I came to work with Chris is a whole story in itself, but I know without question it was the Universe that nudged me to him. The last 2 weeks we have been discussing many aspects of my personal story, and what has led me to the work I am being called to now. A huge part of this has been discussing my beliefs + values. For some this may be a difficult thing to dive into, but for me it couldn’t come easier. I have always been very black + white. Once I know in my heart something feels wrong, I will stand against it with conviction + passion.
Empowered
As I sat on the beach, wrapped up in my coat, facing my friends + family, sun beating down on my face, I suddenly was overcome with pure joy, literally radiating through my heart. The sand beneath me was soft. The sea a magnificence azure blue, sparkling as the sun reflected its beams down on it. Our children ran around in the rock pools beside us, sun kissed, sandy, free. I let my body fall backwards + I lay in the sand, with my hands pressed deep into it. I took some deep breaths + exclaimed: “I have rarely been happier than I am in this moment.”
First comes knowledge...
This is knowledge. When you understand your body + how it works tirelessly to keep you well. When you understand how different foods then work to support the body to do this. When you understand how processed foods, sugar, toxins…actually cause the body to have to fight hard to eliminate them first + foremost, subsequently distracting it from the important work of, for example, destroying damaged cells before they become a big problem, or killing off a virus before it takes hold and they end up with sepsis. When you understand all of this + more, THEN you can make a lifestyle choice!
Liberation
I have spent the last two decades unbinding myself from my stories, from inherited stories, from my wounds, from expectations. Do I still have more to do!? Yes! I have no doubt it will be a life’s work. However, because I have chosen to live a life by my own design, based on my intuition first + foremost, I have naturally been very distant from many of the aspects of society that have made most people numb to the realisation that freedom comes from within, and cannot easily be taken away from you.