What Holds Us When the World Feels Incomprehensible
This week in Wild Mind Writing, Claudia asked us to recall one of our earliest memories with Nature. Mine was Firecracker plant, Russelia equisetiformis, in a brick planter in front of my childhood home. Basketballs smashed kin. We smushed kin as we walked along the edge of the planter. And kin always had flowers to show off. I sat on that planter, surrounded by kin, when I was happy, sad, confused, or lost. My body still remembers how soothing it felt.
Right now, what is happening in the world is hard to comprehend. Floods, hurricanes, and war, one after another, and some days it overwhelms me. When I was small, I had a planter full of Firecracker to come home to.
What I can offer you now is a place to land: plant kin to steady you and people who understand why the living world matters so much to you. So I have given every Seedling Sprout a Blooming Bonus: for a limited time, Seedling Sprouts includes the ReConnect with the Plant Kingdom course and Plant-Inspired Masterclass Discussions. Naturally Conscious Community® is now free or $3 USD a month, and your first month is free. See Your Blooming Bonus →
Last Week, Together
Your First Memory with Nature | Wild Mind Writing, 7 October
What did your body know about kin before your mind had words for it? Claudia led us back to our earliest moments with Nature, into a day with no limits, and out into the rain. Many of our memories led to water. All of them showed us something we did not know we still carried. The prompts and a simple how-to are waiting for you in Seedling Sprouts, so you can write your own at home. Try the Prompts at Home →
Noteworthy Conversations
Joining NCC is free, so you can read every conversation below.
Grandmother stood for 150 to 250 years
Some trees hold more history than any of us. Grandmother stood for an estimated 150 to 250 years before ki was cut down to make way for border wall construction, as reported by Alt National Park Service. When a being that old disappears, who speaks for ki? Sprouts are asking that question together. Read Grandmother’s Story →
Can you still hear the rivers?
Thomas Berry wrote that the world around us “has become an ‘it’ rather than a ‘thou.’” In The Great Work (1999), he called for a transition to a time when humans are present to the Earth in a mutually beneficial way. Over 25 years later, his words describe exactly why NCC exists. Read Berry’s Words →
Five plants, five tracks
What does a plant sound like playing a cello? Biosonora connected five plants to synthesizers and a sampler and kept their own part minimal: a few electronic drum, bass, or piano lines. On track 4, a plant plays sampled cello and percussion. Put on headphones and listen to what kin create. Listen to the EP →
This Week
Tuesday, 13 October, Discussion: The Meadow That Healed Kiself
Plant-Inspired Masterclass | Seedling Sprouts (Blooming Bonus) An abandoned field in England became a wildflower meadow full of orchids, with no seeds sown and only a yearly hay cut. When should you push for change, and when should you give it time? Join the Meadow Discussion →
Wednesday, 14 October Budding Artistry
Sprouts Writing & Creativity Group | Seedling Sprouts This month, we paint. Bring your brushes, something to paint with and on, and let kin guide your hand. No art experience needed. Paint With Us on Wednesday →
Later in October
20 October: iSprouts Community Gathering: Sprout Discussions | Sprout Central, open to every Sprout
21 October: Wild Mind Writing | Sprouts Writing & Creativity Group | Seedling Sprouts
28 October: Wild Mind Writing | Sprouts Writing & Creativity Group | Seedling Sprouts
30 October: Final Book Club Discussion, Green Mass | Plant Wisdom Book Club | Seedling Sprouts
View Full Calendar →
Not sure which of these is for you? Find your place in the NCC forest.
