Thank you for this insightful and inspiring post, Sally. If I remember correctly, you are also in the field of psychology, as am I. It is writing like yours that helps open up a deeper world of relationships with all the life and beings around us. I live in the state of New York in the US and on this land over the last 12 + years I have begun to learn that all of the beings here are relations relating, Land and Place are key to this. I also write about what I am learning in my SubStack post, Living Earthwise. I would love to have you look at it and share your wisdom and insight. Thanks, Wade
Great to connect with you Wade, I can see from your last beautiful post how connected our writing and journeying. I love what you write about rewilding mind, I have come to see this process, decolonisng thinking and reclaiming psyche from predatory capitalism/neoliberalism as the most central work of our times. Urgent necessary and very challenging. But being with the more than human world supports and energises this process. I look forward to a dialogue between ourselves and our places.
Sally, this is such a beautiful piece of writing. Hello from rainy, wet London where the seasons have changed suddenly. I know northern NSW well (Gumbaynggirr Country) and joke to Europeans we have Spring, Spring but wear a jumper in the evening, Spring then Summer. You’re right: this is completely insufficient! I have to confess I have never known about the local calendars like the D’harawal and I’m so grateful you’ve shared this as I can recognise those seasons around Sydney. It’s beautiful and something I will look into. As I get older and more concerned about how we treat the world I’m craving that deeper connection. One thing I’ve been happy to see at home is more First Nations people teaching local customs and sharing knowledge, running tours and cafès and these becoming popular ways to explore and understand the area.
Also, your descriptions of the birds have made me homesick. It’s a lovely, evocative piece of writing with such a strong sense of place. Thank you.
Hi Georgia from Wangal Country. I once lived in London so recognise the homesickness for the Aussie birds and trees and sunshine! Yes so much First Nations led cultural change here now, so welcome even despite setbacks like the Voice referendum last year. First Nations elders teach us not to collapse but to take the long view in all challenges. Hope you are enjoying the beauties of autumn colours in London. Parks there are so glorious , especially the Heath. 💚
I’ve often grappled with the imposition of foreign seasonal names on our climates here in Australia. Local knowledge is often enhanced by being observant and taking time to truly notice what is happening in our small parts of the world. There is much to learn.
I live in Yuin country. It is rich in culture and evidence of long habitation. Today we walked for six hours through a spectacular landscape with views of endless mountains and valleys. The flowering was at its peak. Cicadas flying, frogs calling We saw no-one else.
What a glorious adventure! Yuin Country such a beautiful part of this continent, you are so fortunate to live there. I visit every year and always feel so enlivened by Country and people there.
Sally I loved reading this letter about the seasons and learning to re-seaon our lives with indigenous knowledge and the things we notice about our land. Lots to think about. Words hold so much power, perhaps it is also about choosing new words to better fit our landscape.
Thanks Kate, I think we need to do all of this. Loving that we are now more routinely incorporating First Nations Place and Country names into our daily language but so much further we could go . Such a big gap between a culture which names places after dominant white men and one that listens to Country for the stories and names!
Wonderful to read your reflections on Australian seasons. I look forward to digging into some of the links you've provided. Glad that you are happy to be home in place!
Here on Maui near the coast, the forests as they shaped themselves for millennia are gone, replaced by concrete and steel and golf courses near the ocean and exotic grasses for grazing in the middle elevations. So it is hard to find many seasonal changes on the land, though one I love is happening right now, when the Northern Mockingbird takes up her most vigorous solo singing just when all the other birds finish nesting and the dawn chorus grows quiet. (Almost all the birds here are non-native.) So I'm learning to take my seasonal cues not from the land but from the water: The ocean temp is warmest right now, and I can swim very slowly, stopping to stare at the corals and fish in absorption. In another few months it will be too cold to do that. I'm learning when and where the baby fish emerge, and how long they stay around before moving on. I'm watching the limu, the seaweed, and how it emerges and disappears with the seasons. It is such an overwhelmingly complex world to get to know. I just love it. Thanks for introducing us to your Country!
Oh I love that you have taken us into your waters Priscilla, such an incredible experience to swim and observe the coral and fish in Maui. I hope you will write more about this in your beautiful Nature Spirit Newsletter. . Observing what has been lost where you live there through colonisation and capitalism is an important honouring of the land, seasons now are a time of missing as well as of observing changes , I have become more and more attuned to bird song as a way of being in place. I am glad to hear you have the Northern Mockingbird with you, taking up a solo, even without a chorus.
How lovely to be reminded of what lives along side of us all the time.Nature displaying, singing and telling all the stories over all of time. It's easy to get distracted, self absorbed and that word again, distracted from what is right there saying "hello" anytime I look up and pay attention. Thank you SallyX
Thank you Leonie, I know where you are is very alive with songs and stories, strange isn’t it how we spend so much time listening to stories and music from all over and tune out those which are closest to us?
Thank you for this insightful and inspiring post, Sally. If I remember correctly, you are also in the field of psychology, as am I. It is writing like yours that helps open up a deeper world of relationships with all the life and beings around us. I live in the state of New York in the US and on this land over the last 12 + years I have begun to learn that all of the beings here are relations relating, Land and Place are key to this. I also write about what I am learning in my SubStack post, Living Earthwise. I would love to have you look at it and share your wisdom and insight. Thanks, Wade
Great to connect with you Wade, I can see from your last beautiful post how connected our writing and journeying. I love what you write about rewilding mind, I have come to see this process, decolonisng thinking and reclaiming psyche from predatory capitalism/neoliberalism as the most central work of our times. Urgent necessary and very challenging. But being with the more than human world supports and energises this process. I look forward to a dialogue between ourselves and our places.
Another wonderful, inspiring piece and a fine reminder to tune in to, notice, enjoy and care for the natural world. Yes! 🌿🦜💕
🙏💚 May your noticings where you are sing your soul
🌹🌻🌸💐💚💜❤️🌼😍🥰
Sally, this is such a beautiful piece of writing. Hello from rainy, wet London where the seasons have changed suddenly. I know northern NSW well (Gumbaynggirr Country) and joke to Europeans we have Spring, Spring but wear a jumper in the evening, Spring then Summer. You’re right: this is completely insufficient! I have to confess I have never known about the local calendars like the D’harawal and I’m so grateful you’ve shared this as I can recognise those seasons around Sydney. It’s beautiful and something I will look into. As I get older and more concerned about how we treat the world I’m craving that deeper connection. One thing I’ve been happy to see at home is more First Nations people teaching local customs and sharing knowledge, running tours and cafès and these becoming popular ways to explore and understand the area.
Also, your descriptions of the birds have made me homesick. It’s a lovely, evocative piece of writing with such a strong sense of place. Thank you.
Hi Georgia from Wangal Country. I once lived in London so recognise the homesickness for the Aussie birds and trees and sunshine! Yes so much First Nations led cultural change here now, so welcome even despite setbacks like the Voice referendum last year. First Nations elders teach us not to collapse but to take the long view in all challenges. Hope you are enjoying the beauties of autumn colours in London. Parks there are so glorious , especially the Heath. 💚
I’ve often grappled with the imposition of foreign seasonal names on our climates here in Australia. Local knowledge is often enhanced by being observant and taking time to truly notice what is happening in our small parts of the world. There is much to learn.
So much to learn … and a lot of joy in the process
I live in Yuin country. It is rich in culture and evidence of long habitation. Today we walked for six hours through a spectacular landscape with views of endless mountains and valleys. The flowering was at its peak. Cicadas flying, frogs calling We saw no-one else.
What a glorious adventure! Yuin Country such a beautiful part of this continent, you are so fortunate to live there. I visit every year and always feel so enlivened by Country and people there.
Sally I loved reading this letter about the seasons and learning to re-seaon our lives with indigenous knowledge and the things we notice about our land. Lots to think about. Words hold so much power, perhaps it is also about choosing new words to better fit our landscape.
Thanks Kate, I think we need to do all of this. Loving that we are now more routinely incorporating First Nations Place and Country names into our daily language but so much further we could go . Such a big gap between a culture which names places after dominant white men and one that listens to Country for the stories and names!
Wonderful to read your reflections on Australian seasons. I look forward to digging into some of the links you've provided. Glad that you are happy to be home in place!
Thanks Gillian, I imagine your land is singing with new growth and blossoms down there.
Slowly slowly, we have had a very dry month or so, I think that is delaying things :)
Here on Maui near the coast, the forests as they shaped themselves for millennia are gone, replaced by concrete and steel and golf courses near the ocean and exotic grasses for grazing in the middle elevations. So it is hard to find many seasonal changes on the land, though one I love is happening right now, when the Northern Mockingbird takes up her most vigorous solo singing just when all the other birds finish nesting and the dawn chorus grows quiet. (Almost all the birds here are non-native.) So I'm learning to take my seasonal cues not from the land but from the water: The ocean temp is warmest right now, and I can swim very slowly, stopping to stare at the corals and fish in absorption. In another few months it will be too cold to do that. I'm learning when and where the baby fish emerge, and how long they stay around before moving on. I'm watching the limu, the seaweed, and how it emerges and disappears with the seasons. It is such an overwhelmingly complex world to get to know. I just love it. Thanks for introducing us to your Country!
Oh I love that you have taken us into your waters Priscilla, such an incredible experience to swim and observe the coral and fish in Maui. I hope you will write more about this in your beautiful Nature Spirit Newsletter. . Observing what has been lost where you live there through colonisation and capitalism is an important honouring of the land, seasons now are a time of missing as well as of observing changes , I have become more and more attuned to bird song as a way of being in place. I am glad to hear you have the Northern Mockingbird with you, taking up a solo, even without a chorus.
How lovely to be reminded of what lives along side of us all the time.Nature displaying, singing and telling all the stories over all of time. It's easy to get distracted, self absorbed and that word again, distracted from what is right there saying "hello" anytime I look up and pay attention. Thank you SallyX
Thank you Leonie, I know where you are is very alive with songs and stories, strange isn’t it how we spend so much time listening to stories and music from all over and tune out those which are closest to us?