1 | creating the conditions for change
(originally written 29.02.24)Whether it is healing the physical body, or transforming a lump of clay into a jug, or a landscape restoring its vitality; the key ingredient is conducive conditions for change.
One of the threads I seem to be pulling time and time again is an exploration into the conditions that are needed for change. I will likely return to this contemplation in future letters yet it felt like a fitting starting point given the essence of life is that of change. Unpredictable, wild, chaotic, vast, beautiful change.
Let’s sit with the word for a moment. What inner weather is evoked when you utter ‘change’ internally? Where do you feel it?
The transition between seasons is a reminder that change is a constant in this world. We must also cope with disturbances such as fires, floods, hurricanes and more. While we typically view these disturbances as negative, they are processes that shape our natural world and are often beneficial in the long term. Fires clear out debris and return nutrients to the soil. River valleys are fertile farm grounds because of past floods. When conditions change, plants must adapt or die. Animals also have the option of moving. Humans have a vast array of choices when responding to change. First and foremost, we can choose to be creative or we can choose to be victims. ~ K. Gallo
We may be biologically programmed to look for patterns and familiarity yet I am learning that there is something quite liberating about intentional discombobulation. Perhaps it is because it is preparing me for the inevitable changes that will continue to flow through life. Perhaps it is because over the past year I have come to realise that I had been living life mechanically a lot of the time. And, by purposely doing things differently so much unexpected wonder has arisen.
By moving beyond simply getting used to change but actually paying attention to it and befriending, I’ve noticed a slow yet potent erosion of attachment. Particularly my attachment to a state of ‘good health’. For one it is not realistic, for anyone to be utterly healthy all of the time! And secondly, this very pressure - fueled by a subtle anger and fear - to maintain such a state of health paradoxically puts an astronomical amount of stress on one's system - particularly the kidney qi - causing further disregulation.
“where there is rage
there is always defeat
in the depths of flames
there is no soul that can see
and as time progresses
immersed in anger
where skin is torn
twisted and strangled
only those on the outside
can light a beacon” ~ Omar James Kanaan
And as we invite change in, how can we also create conducive conditions for change?
If I am to transform a lump of clay into a jug I need to be calm, moving slowly and rhythmically in union with the wheel. I need to maintain an awareness of changes as they unfold and gently act as a guide. I want to avoid pushing the clay too hard if the wheel is spinning slowly, I need to respond with my environment, not against it. I need to trust that this ball of grey has the potential to transform. I need to recognise my role yet do so with humility and grace.
If I am to allow my body to intuitively heal itself I need to learn listen to what it needs not blindly take advice. Of course, a minimum, it will usually be pleading for a little more rest, a little more water, a little more sleep and a good dose of quality foods (I will explore each of these in more detail in future letters). An overall slowing. A softening. Perhaps sometimes it needs additional support to recalibrate, more often than not this will be in clearing toxins and reducing inflammation. Whatever the intervention might be, it is almost always going to need time, patience, care and belief.
It can be confronting when practitioners reveal that the journey to healing is a long one. I know I have often felt a wave of disappointment, a wave which rushes back to the shore of my being repeatedly until I have sat with the emotion enough, honoured and investigated it (I find Tara Brach’s RAIN meditation beautifully helpful). Yet with time, I have been able to see the magical gift of rediscovery and reconnection to one’s body that this healing journey brings. And with this, a forgotten reverence for the body’s intelligence and transformational capacities, (eventually) begins blossoming!
For too long I approached healing with a productive, business-like, controlled mindset…do this, clear that, take this…action will lead to outcome, right? The disappointment and stress and disbelief when things weren’t shifting led me to believe that there are simply more pieces to the puzzle that need be collectively considered (our bodies are systems after all), collectively become rather than done. Whilst - in my case - I absolutely know that dis-ease arose from a specific set of events (the C19 vaccination and a car crash) in tandem with some underlying viral and parasitic friends, I do believe that my attitude and mindset began to act as a blocker for change. Cultivating a compassionate, accepting attitude has become the most important factor in healing.
If we are to support nature to restore we need to give it time. Allow it to breathe and recalibrate in the way it knows how to do. I witnessed this last month in the Matthew’s Range in Northern Kenya. A landscape that for the past countless years has been beyond dry, sapped of vitality, sapped of hope was telling a different story. One of hundreds of thousands of white migratory Belenois aurota butterflies dancing over freshly blossoming trees and crystal clear rivers tumbling down rockfaces evoking sighs of relief. The sleeping landscape awoke, but with climate change the prospects of the area are concerning.
What if we slowed our collective consumption?
What if we realised our interbeing and collectively aligned our commitment to not destroying that which we are inherently part of?
What if we co-created a vision of what type of world we want to live in and collectively work towards this?
…if we don’t, the blossoms may not return in our lifetime. The phenomenon of flapping wings may truly wither.
And, if we are to continue to do the important work that many of us are doing to support positive systems change, then we need to evolve our human capabilities and mindsets.
What if we better supported ourselves to do hard things?
What if we better fostered community to help us along the way?
What if we shifted our paradigms and allowed new ways of seeing to unfold?
What if we honoured our sense of grief for the state of the world and use this same grief as motivation to act?
Finally, what if we realised our inner potential for being an agent of change, no matter how small, and with this, better self-managed so that our actions carry greater effect?
Creating conducive conditions for change need not be burdemsome, it can be joyful and even make us feel into our aliveness! Yet it requires paying attention, taking responsibility and asking ourselves questions about how we are showing up in the world and why…
Here’s a few questions to play around with in practice…
How might we see everyone we interact with as a living being with their own fears, sufferings, motivations, aspirations and needs? If we first saw the suffering would we act with greater kindness and compassion? Would we be more understanding? Respond versus react? How would this influence those same people to also act with greater kindness; would it create a ripple effect of more conducive conditions for change in our inner and outer worlds? And create the support needed to be the change we wish to see in the world?
How might we develop our patience and a sense of spaciousness to allow for emergent change? With this, I feel there is a balance between maintaining a sense of importance in the work we are doing (be it inner or outer) without collapsing into a contracted state of urgency and emergency.
Yes, change is needed BUT we need to learn to approach change without putting our nervous systems into overdrive, cutting corners or overlooking potential externalities. I’ve learnt through my body and working with clay that sometimes the slower, more spaciously and more carefully we move, the more transformational the change ends up being…
Et voila! First substack is out in the open, I have no idea where I am going with this yet, but let’s see how it evolves! I’d be very interested for feedback - did anything resonate or was there anything you’d like to hear more about?
Merciiiii and warm wishes, Tash x
What’s been sparking my curiosity?
Hearing: Brother Phap Linh dharma lesson on spirituality and environmental change
Seeing: the magnificence of mighty Silk Bombax trees bursting into pink flower
Tasting: occhhh, hello to the depth of flavour as I mindfully drink 12hour bone broth to break my weekly 36 hour fast
Smelling: eucalyptus trees in Nairobi’s Kaurua Forest after the El Nino rains evoke a clarity and stillness of mind
Touching: the flesh of fresh young coconut with my grubby clay fingers, tearing little pieces away to give energy as I wander for hours alongside an adored friend
Feeling: the rhythm of a new pottery wheel and creating by standing rather than sitting
