Broken hearts are open hearts

Thoughts, feelings and invitations

My heart breaks every day, and every day, there is also wonder and wild, exquisite beauty.

Our hearts, minds, and nervous systems hold impossibly beautiful and horrible things at once in today’s world. Yet, these are not separate entities. As Mary Oliver writes, joy and grief are housed in the same body. And I know that when my mind and heart are out of sync, or if my nervous system is on alert and I'm not listening or acting, there is imbalance. I am disconnected, on some level, from my animal body.

I'm supposed to be promoting my new book right now, and I am. But I'm also trying to figure out how to do so amidst emergencies — climate disasters, genocide, and ecocide — that demand our attention, and so many who need help and support.

We must tend to both the joyful and the heartbreaking. I cannot ignore my extended relatives who are suffering and I cannot ignore my local ecosystems or loved ones who are close. How do we stay present in our bodies while holding and tending to it all?

We know the earth is suffering in too many places, yet the earth also continues to bloom and thrive in others. One of my early herbalism teachers, Robin Rose Bennett, says that only a broken heart is a heart that is truly open. And I think that's true.

Reading at my book launch on Sept 24th

I don’t have answers here but I do know that collaborating with my local ecosystems and remembering that I am just one part of Earth’s incredible interdependent web brings me solace, connection and healing. “Think globally, act locally,” is a good practice for me. I support those afar when and where I can, while prioritizing presence to cherish the preciousness of life and celebrate my beautiful biodiverse family.

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Photo by Shahida Khan Tora on Unsplash

SUPPORT EXTENDED FAMILY:
The Palestinian Center For Biodiversity and Sustainability
Anera
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
Beloved Asheville
Project Coyote
Primary Rainforest

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A table setting at my beautiful book launch. Thank you for all who came.

YOU’RE INVITED:
Tomorrow: Reading and Conversation with beloved bestselling author Sy Montgomery at Toadstool Bookshop in Petersborough, NH
Sunday: Writing For The Wild lecture series with Project Coyote begins.

READ SOME OF MY RECENT ARTICLES AND ESSAYS:
Rewilding Through Boxing for Beyond with

Jane Ratcliffe

Beyond Settler Ecologies, Yes Magazine
Beloved Bats, Lit Hub
EARTHLY BODIES interview with Dr. Marc Beckoff, Psychology Today
Rewilding Attachment Theory, Psyche Magazine
Creating Corridors: How Storytelling Fosters Empathy for Wild Kin, Project Coyote

WATCH A BEAUTIFUL SHORT FILM:

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Thank you for reading. 💚

I’d love to learn: How are you balancing your personal needs with local and global needs? What practices or rituals help you stay grounded, centered and embodied?