Story One

Last week I began to read a book entitled Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane. He writes that in 2007 a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary was published. There had been a "culling of words concerning nature."

When asked (repeatedly), the Oxford University Press revealed a list of the entries it no longer felt to be relevant to modern-day childhood. These included: acorn, adder, beech, bluebell, cygnet, fern, heron, ivy, lark nectar, pasture, willow (to name a few).

Words introduced into the new edition included: attachment, black-graph, blog, broadband, bullet-point, chatroom, committee, cut-and-paste, MP3 player and voice-mail.

When asked about the choice to delete 'nature words', they explained that the dictionary needed to reflect the consensus experience of modern-day childhood.

MacFarlane wrote: There is a realism to her response - but also an alarming acceptance of the idea that children might no longer see the seasons, or that the rural environment might be so unproblematically disposable.

Story Two

I am talking with a colleague in San Francisco. I ask him: "If you were to choose the single biggest impact that Covid has created, what would you say? "

He reflected for a moment or two and then offered the following. "I would say it is the degree to which we have become more self-focused and simultaneously less connected with the people and world around us." He felt this was a result of the requirement to shift personal and professional interactions to a predominantly digital environment.

Technically we were able to accomplish this. And in fact the advances in sophistication of digital platforms is remarkable. And, the lack of in-person engagement, combined with the increased vigilance when we did gather with others, have resulted in increases in stress, isolation, and loneliness. How many of you felt an awkwardness after 2-3 years of 'social distancing' when you would meet others? I did. In some odd way we turned more inward and became more disconnected from one another and from the natural world around us as well.

Why does this matter?

My hypothesis: For thousands of years we humans have lived on this earth and in some deeply embodied way our beings recognize the physical environs of wherever we live on planet Earth as home. Increasingly, we have been evolving into more urban living environments and simultaneously communicating and entertaining ourselves through multiplying forms of digital media. Many of us spend more time with our devices than connecting in embodied ways. We text, IM, game, and more. When we do go for walks it is often with audio books, or attending digital meetings. We may not even see the plants and animals around us, if we are even fortunate enough to have 'green spaces' within our environments. I believe this growing shift in how, and to what, we attend is 'ungrounding us in some significant ways' that contribute to stress and distress. And I wonder: Are the words deleted from the dictionary for children becoming irrelevant to us as adults also?

I personally have no proof of a causal relationship. What I can report is what I observe when people come to visit the place where my partner, Dave, and I live, which we call The Ojo, even for a day.

People slow down. They become calmer and more at ease. They speak of the beauty of the place and how good it feels to be here. They speak of finding clarity around dilemmas and challenges and inspiration and renewed energy for opportunities in their lives. They talk about how it feels to be untethered from their digital phone, computer and all the instant accessibility they demand. Sometimes uncomfortable at first - like somehow they will cease to 'belong' or 'be valued'. And then there is a feeling of immense relief. Like a breathing out after holding your breath for some time. As they rest into the Place, they reconnect with themselves and feel 'revitalized' and alive.

One choice for 2024.

It feels important, in today's ever more complex world, for there to be a dance of balance between us humans and this plant Earth, where we live and to which we do in fact owe our very lives, and the technologies that support the global flow of ideas and conversations so needed for creating a robust and viable way of living moving forward.

Therefore, Dave and I will be offering opportunities for people to visit and connect with this Place we life and partner with and call The Ojo. Stay tuned for further details over the next months.

And I will continue to dream into the Triple Braid of Dialogue, Walkabouts and Council Wheel Teachings. Again, if you are curious to learn more please do be in touch with me directly and also stay tuned here for further news.

In closing it seems fitting to share a favorite poem.

LOST 

Stand Still. The trees ahead and the bushes beside you

Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

You must ask permission to know it and be known.

Listen. The forest breathes. It whispers,

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven

No two branches are the same to Wren

If what a tree or a bush does it lost on you,

You are surely lost.

Stand Still. The forest knows where you are.

You must let it find you.

--David Wagoner—

May we all remember how to stand still and let the forest find us.