Tag Archives: death

For the love of destruction

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Blog by Valerie

We recently revisited one of my favourite childhood movies with our daughter, Ferngully. I was reminded of the depiction of pure destruction and the power and joy of that aspect of our nature in the character of Hexxus (what a metaphorical name!). 

I like to refer to the cycle of the Earth as birth, life, death and rebirth, but I’ve also seen it as birth, life, decay and death. I consider death to be a process of decay so to me that’s an overemphasis, but what I like about it is the reminder that it’s part of a natural cycle. And shouldn’t creatures who support death and decay be celebrated as well? (Image from here)

We recently got some king oyster mushroom spawn and are going to try to get some growing out of stumps and sawdust. Fungi are experts at death/decay. Many of them we enjoy eating and cultivating, but of course a few are poisonous, some with lethal levels of toxins. The possibility of those few highly toxic ones (I saw estimates of 2-3% of all fungus) is enough to make most of us too scared to forage unless we can confidently get a positive ID. 

If 2-3% of the news and goings on in the human social world were highly toxic and potentially lethal, it would be easier to live with witnessing the death/decay aspect of our being. But that isn’t the level of toxicity I now perceive, nor the level I grew up experiencing as a child.

We talk about avoiding toxic people, toxic chemicals, but we can’t totally escape our environments. Sometimes we hear about miracle bacteria that can eat petrol and clean the ocean. I feel like that’s a better metaphor for what we socially need to aspire to rather than just avoiding. Avoiding means we’re giving space to poisonous people to keep going down their path. And that affects us all. Fighting, even with the most righteous and pure hearted warrior energy, literally creates toxins in our bodies. So we’re still fuelling the poison. But transformation or alchemy is a different spirit. It is at the root of the metaphor I love of turning sh*t into fertiliser. (Image from here)

Physically I avoid engaging with highly toxic people as best I can so that: spiritually I can hold the relationship with unconditional love and acceptance; emotionally I can weather the intensity of feelings of the poison lingering in me and the pain of doing alchemy; and mentally so I can process what behaviour was love and what was hatred that feels so familiar I thought it was love because in my innocence that was all I knew. 

Reflection: Destruction is vital to our planet. Toxic destruction isn’t, and we all suffer for it. Alchemy helps me. What helps you move through it?

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Honouring our Rage

decolonising, healing, Indigenous science, Relationships, Spiritual Skills, values, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Blog by Valerie
Rage matters. It’s a passionate, spirited emotion. Spirit keeps our inner fires burning and helps us feel alive. We need healthy spirits! I remember spiritual teacher Tom Lake, an Anglo-Celtic medicine man sharing that to try to get rid of one’s anger is to dis-spirit oneself. What we do with that energy makes a difference to our fulfilment, our personal power, and to the people and world around us.
Unfortunately social and political power are often not encouraging of us being our best selves. But we still have to live with who we are being and what we do.
I have noticed a pattern to the hateful messages I receive from other politically Indigenous folks. The person states their cultural affiliation (usually Aboriginal Australian, sometimes Native American), then attacks mine. The comments are about one of my online offerings, but are directed to an unknown reader using othering language. They open with language like “I’m really interested how she can claim…” while expressing no interest in dialogue. Most comments occur on weekend evenings from males. It’s clear the person didn’t read more than a paragraph or two about me and my life’s work.
I feel the person’s rage and see it as a cry for help. I send compassion, care, and a boundary of not engaging directly so as to avoid fueling flames of further divisiveness and violence.
We all get overwhelmed and are unsure how to direct our rage at times. I get that. For all of us who care about Lore and Law, who feel connected with Mother Earth and the ecosystems where we live, there is a lot to be angry about right now. Much about the way we are collectively living feels wrong, yet as individuals we can feel limited power what we can do differently.
Here are some ways that I find constructive to honour rage in the short term:
  1. Primal screams (you might like to add chest beating) and foot stomping;
  2. Big sobbing, raging grief (where you really let go and have a big physical cry);
  3. Physical movement (running or wild dancing are good options); and/or
  4. Musical, artistic or other creative expression (banging drums often helps).
In the medium and long term, I find these helpful:
  1. Practicing unconditional love and acceptance (especially with oneself and with people who have very different values and worldviews);
  2. Reflecting how to more fully live your core values and ways to practice compassion when you can’t (maybe you do some activism or make a small lifestyle change);
  3. Spending time connecting with landforms, animals and plants and attuning to indigenous science messages; and/or
  4. Setting and honouring boundaries to uphold important Lore and Law (like treating yourself and others with respect and dignity).
When I think about people behaving in ways that I fundamentally disagree with and find inherently destructive, it helps me to remember the cycles of the Earth: birth, life, death, and rebirth. Destructive energy leads to death and decay, and following that is an opportunity for rebirth. Death and decay is uncomfortable to be with, but it’s s purposeful part of our life cycle. Deaths of collective dreams and ways of being can feel very big at times, yet reach unexpected tipping points. I find solace in the quotes below, and maybe you will resonate with them also.
Let’s express our deepest passions and rage wisely to keep that energy flowing! Let’s allow toxic divisiveness and existential supremacy to die and decay, making more space for interconnectivity and beautiful rebirths to emerge.
giveheartIf you value this content, please engage in reciprocity by living, sharing and giving.