Collisions of work and wildness
Be part of the greatest nature poem ever
About ten years ago, I did a lot of blogging—for myself via now latent blogspot and wordpress websites and for other larger publications. I curated and edited the blog for We Are Wildness, and wrote for Elephant Journal, Tiny Buddha, Having Time, and several other online publications. Listicles were in high demand, so I wrote a lot of them. Mostly how-tos and why-tos and top 5s.
I’m in an organizational mode at present, so in addition to going through my entire closet1, I did a little digital sifting as well and came upon several of these listicles.
So, as we begin a new work week, here’s one of them that was first composed in 2016 or so.
You might already be aware of the fact that work takes up a lot of time. You may even be one of those folks who feels like you spend more time at the office or behind the till or at the wheel or tapping on a keyboard than is ideal for human health and happiness. And it’s also likely that you, or someone you know, are one of those folks who doesn’t see a realistic way to do things differently right now. Maybe there’s a job change in your future, maybe you’ll move to a yurt in the Andes or maybe you’ll figure out how to finance a simple lifestyle without living the nine to five. But for many of us, there are school loans to pay, a mortgage with which to keep up, kids or parents to care for, and vehicles to maintain. Leaving it all behind to move to a cabin in the woods may sound fabulous to many reading these words right now (me too, even though I already do live in the woods)….but for a lot of people, it’s just not going to happen in the next week, or month, or year. Maybe it will. Maybe tomorrow will bring a shift that will allow the ideal living situation to come closer into being. This isn’t about giving up on moving toward a way of life that requires less money or resources or large scale overhauls—if that’s your goal, and it feels good to keep working toward it, that’s great. But since large overhauls are overwhelming to many, the ideas that follow are what you could do right now to invite just a touch more wildness to your day to day.
Sit up straight. Pretend there’s a string attached to your head, pulling it toward the ceiling, roll your shoulders back and enjoy the crunching sound your shoulder blades make after a morning of hunching forward. Take a deep breath deep into your abdomen, hold it for three seconds and then breathe out. Repeat as often as necessary. When you feel out of tune, check in with your physical body. Feel the air going in and out of your nose. Remember you are a living, breathing human animal.
Turn off the news. On your commute to work, during your morning coffee ritual, when getting gas at one of those stations that has TVs at every pump: Don’t engage. Don’t let the media dictate how you are going to start your day and what information is going to color how you perceive the world. We are bombarded with negative energy from all sides every time we look at a device, turn on the radio, or walk down the street. Stay informed in a way that sets you up to be a positive force in the world instead of a way that is apt to send you into the depths of despair or hostility. You get to choose how much, when, and from what source your information comes. You have the power to choose how you respond to what you see. Use your choice.
Go outside at lunch or on your 15 minute break. Get some natural light and fresh air, even if is raining or the sun hasn’t been out for weeks or you are deep in a concrete jungle. Look up at the sky if there’s nothing else natural to focus on. Remember that wildness is still the undercurrent of the world. If you want to take it a step further, take off your shoes and stand on the little patch of soil in between the sidewalk and the road. Honor the wildness that you feel when you engage with the natural air and remember to notice it.
Connect with someone different. That’s right – that person in the next cube over who chomps gum all day and is always talking about that band that you hate? Smile at her and ask her what the highlight of her weekend was. The guy who lives down the road who has his car plastered with bumper stickers of the politics you can’t stand? Hold the door for him when you see him at the grocery store. When we can reach out beyond our perceived differences, we create a world that isn’t so separate. And these days that’s really wild.
Howl. Or that is to say, use your voice in the way it works for you to use it. If you are up for a challenge, go outside right now and wake up your vocal chords. If that doesn’t resonate, maybe you’ll sing in your car on the commute home. You don’t have to do it in front of anyone else, but do it. Let your voice out. So often we feel caged in a system that doesn’t have a key. Part of the way out of the cage is to speak our truth. Whether it’s by howling like a wolf or simply speaking up for something that matters, it makes a difference to hear the sound of your voice meld into the sounds that are surrounding you. Know that you are part of the earth. Know that your voice matters.
Put your hands in water.2 Wild water, like a creek or lake or puddle if available, but if not any water, even that from the tap, will do. Feel the earth’s lifeblood wash over you, reminding you of your place in the wild family of things. As Barry Lopez wrote, “To put your hands in a river is to feel the chords that bind the earth together.”
What are your go to methods for adding more wildness to the work week?
From Church of Shadow and Light. Because as you add some wildness to the workday, you’re leaning into the fact that you’re a part of the greatest nature poem ever.
(Do I have clothes I got in Malta 25 years ago? T-shirts from high school sports teams? Old bathing suits that should be disposed of immediately? Yes. I got rid of a lot of it, but I did keep a few T shirts and a pair of capri pants that must have been really well made..)
This one was not part of the original article, but it seemed like a fitting closing and tied in the photo I added.