Solitude
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more ~ Lord Byron
What a difference a few days make! I know ya'll are probably sick and tired of hearing about all the things that could go wrong in the world. I know I am. I thought I would spend some time being positive.
Seriously though....... Its seems a bit surreal these days. I am lucky I guess as my life doesn't seem a whole lot different. I tend to be a bit of a hermit most of the time anyway. Solitude is something I treasure.
I'm happiest creating. Simple things make me very happy really. Long motorcycle rides, walking with Bella, Making something beautiful for someone, just having time alone in the woods or out in the desert.
Listening to really good music. Im grateful for my life even in times like these.
This past winter was a rough one for me physically. December and January are hazy. Viruses already had fun with me. Now I feel healthier than I have in a very long time. I'm grateful for those months because it made me more aware. I started using herbs much more, gave myself more time to meditate, explore breath work, stopped drinking so much, started eating better. Being sick so long was a blessing in the end. I love Youtube and have found so much great knowledge along with my beloved music. Here's someone I've been following for awhile. These two videos were very helpful for me. Maybe you too?
Yarrow Willard ~
Yarrow also has great videos about different herbs, how to identify them in the wild, what they are good for. I love binge watching these. Yes I know I'm a bit of a weirdo........ Maybe more than a bit.
These next few months will be scary but also exciting. It feels like a new world is birthing. Maybe one where people appreciate more and expect less. A place were kindness and compassion take the place of greed and selfishness. Even bad things have silver linings. The earth is breathing a sigh of relief these days. When people stay home there is way less stress on the planet. Yes I am a tree hugger, and proud of it!
If all goes well and the snow starts to melt we will head north in a few weeks to the Black Hills. I love New Mexico but when things start warming up the hills start calling me home. I can hear the trickle of Hanna Creek from here.
I just loaded up my website today with all kinds of great stuff! I've been an artist gone mad with creating these past few weeks. Not only jewelry but hats , leather, Vintage Levi jackets! I'm very happy with the inventory I have for this summer. You don't have to wait though. If your just a wee bit curious check out my website shop at www.ginnywolfstudio.com I would be more than happy to brave the outside world to send you a treasure! Now more than ever its important to support the arts!
I found this on a friends Facebook post and thought it was worth sharing.
WASH YOUR HANDS
We are humans relearning to wash our hands. Washing our hands is an act of love Washing our hands is an act of care Washing our hands is an act that puts the hypervigilant body at ease Washing our hands helps us return to ourselves by washing away what does not serve.
Wash your hands like you are washing the only teacup left that your great grandmother carried across the ocean, like you are washing the hair of a beloved who is dying, like you are washing the feet of Grace Lee Boggs, Beyonce, Jesus, your auntie, Audre Lorde, Mary Oliver- you get the picture. Like this water is poured from a jug your best friend just carried for three miles from the spring they had to climb a mountain to reach. Like water is a precious resource made from time and miracle
Wash your hands and cough into your elbow, they say. Rest more, stay home, drink water, have some soup, they say. To which I would add: burn some plants your ancestors burned when there was fear in the air, Boil some aromatic leaves in a pot on your stove until your windows steam up. Open your windows Eat a piece of garlic every day. Tie a clove around your neck. Breathe.
My friends, it is always true, these things. It has already been time. It is always true that we should move with care and intention, asking Do you want to bump elbows instead? with everyone we meet. It is always true that people are living with one lung, with immune systems that don’t work so well, or perhaps work too hard, fighting against themselves. It is already true that people are hoarding the things that the most vulnerable need. It is already time that we might want to fly on airplanes less and not go to work when we are sick. It is already time that we might want to know who in our neighborhood has cancer, who has a new baby, who is old, with children in another state, who has extra water, who has a root cellar, who is a nurse, who has a garden full of elecampane and nettles. It is already time that temporarily non-disabled people think about people living with chronic illness and disabled folks, that young people think about old people. It is already time to stop using synthetic fragrances to not smell like bodies, to pretend like we’re all not dying. It is already time to remember that those scents make so many of us sick. It is already time to not take it personally when someone doesn’t want to hug you. It is already time to slow down and feel how scared we are.
We are already afraid, we are already living in the time of fires.
When fear arises, and it will, let it wash over your whole body instead of staying curled up tight in your shoulders. If your heart tightens, contract and expand. science says: compassion strengthens the immune system We already know that, but capitalism gives us amnesia and tricks us into thinking it’s the thing that protect us but it’s the way we hold the thing. The way we do the thing.
Those of us who have forgotten amuletic traditions, we turn to hoarding hand sanitizer and masks. we find someone to blame. we think that will help. want to blame something? Blame capitalism. Blame patriarchy. Blame white supremacy.
It is already time to remember to hang garlic on our doors to dip our handkerchiefs in thyme tea to rub salt on our feet to pray the rosary, kiss the mezuzah, cleanse with an egg. In the middle of the night, when you wake up with terror in your belly, it is time to think about stardust and geological time redwoods and dance parties and mushrooms remediating toxic soil. it is time to care for one another to pray over water to wash away fear every time we wash our hands ~ Dori Midnite
And now for something completely different. I found this band of youngsters the other day. IM not sure where they are from but man oh man they kick ass! One of my very favorite songs from the band Hiam. Oh Well
Take care out there. Im sending you lots of love and light my friends! See you on the flipside!