LOVE YOUR NATURE - Blog - Love Your Nature

Happy Holy Days

12/21/2019

We are loving this gorgeous essay on the nature of the Winter Solstice, and return of holidays to "holy days". Thank you Michael Meade for your inspirational thinking }

Dear Friends,

The modern world, made bright and shiny with inter-connective technology, can also seem a dark, isolating place. The growing climate crisis, increasing wealth disparity, as well as the politics of conflict and corruption cast huge shadows over the land. These are not simply the dark days of winter, but increasingly dark times for everyone; especially for those who truly care for the souls of others and for the well-being of the sacred earth we all live upon.

The disasters of modern life are deepened by the loss of imagination about the mystery and wonder of this world and the lack of understanding of our essential place within it. We keep falling out of the living story of the world and into the shadow of humanity. Humans may be frail and easily misled, yet we belong to more than one dimension of life and the dark of the year is the traditional time to recall the inner connection between our souls and the starry universe.

Young Woman's Essay Reflections on Girls Group

12/1/2019

So grateful for one of our long time girls sharing a piece of one of her college essays - about her years in girls group! What a gift, on so many levels.

"I have been a part of a teen girls’ discussion group for almost three years. The girls who make up the group change every year, but the feeling of sisterhood never does. Each year we start out as strangers, but we skip the small talk and get to know each other’s opinions, values, aspirations, and life experiences right away. It feels like a powerful remedy to our modern world of superficial social media-based interactions.

The first year I started attending I hardly talked, instead preferring to listen to the other girls’ stories and let the lessons they've learned wash over me until I learned them, too. Sometimes, though, I felt compelled to share my own stories. Each time I shared, I'd been bottling up my thoughts long enough that I knew how to articulate them when I started speaking. This taught me the art of listening deeply, and how it can create better empathy and connection. I also learned from others in the group that when I articulated my own stories in a vulnerable way, it encouraged the others to be vulnerable, too. Before that, I didn't know that I could empower others to be their true selves just by being authentic myself...

On Vulnerability & Birthday Wishes

9/27/2019

Birthdays are weird. They hold the most vulnerable, hidden, hardest parts and the most lovable, shining ones. Birthdays make a mess of nostalgia, secret disappointments, big wishes, and raw mortality. Something about hoping for more than ordinariness feels like a set up. You dream beautiful dreams and then you get rained out or your kid gets sick... sometimes, life is just like that. Then a beloved surprises you with flowers, or a long distance visit. Life is like that too. Or maybe it's that my birthday is sister to Autumn, the often emotional turning towards the dark, swampy, rich harvests and shedding skins. Or maybe it's that my birthday is my grandmother's, so no birthday is ever celebrated without loss.

This past year has been one of the sweetest, and one of the hardest of my life. I have blossomed into myself as a mama, partner, guide, and friend. I have learned more about how deeply I grieve, and in turn touched a deeper love. I have held great faith, protected my optimism, and opened the door again and again to hope. I have felt scared and alone, in this time of the "broken village". I work really f*ing hard, on a lot of levels. I am SO grateful for my life.

It's been a hard year, and a wonderful year. I haven't checked in about my son for a while, well, because it's really vulnerable. Last January he got sick, then we got food poisoning, then in February he developed a cross eye. (Potentially all related or unrelated) By April it transformed into an extremely rare eye condition called Cyclic Esotropia. Short story is his left eye switches from being totally normal, to crossed, every 24 hours. So every other day he's totally fine. And every other day, he's got a cross eye.

The process has been filled with love, struggle, and mystery...

When Is It Ever Enough?

9/9/2019

This Summer, I had the honor of attending a retreat for mothers from around the country, as part of a year-long commitment to a Motherworthy group I meet with weekly, online. This was my first trip away from my son Shaye, and my first time to North Carolina. I absolutely loved it! The weekend was relaxed and meaningful, and Shaye did great at home with Dada and Gramma Ummie. I led a simple rite of passage ritual for the group that was as powerful as I'd hoped.

Though I adored tender and silly moments with these incredible women, and swimming naked in a cold river on a true Summer day, my favorite part of the whole adventure was the soundscape of the Appalachian mountains at night. Something about the wet heat, the stars, the woods and creek, and the overpowering symphony of nocturnal singers - it was like retreating to a safe rainforest. I remembered my first conversation with my now husband, when he told me his greatest passion was "listening" (swoon!) and about his interest in finding places in this world where one could listen to an uninterrupted soundscape. It was sweet to remember our "beginning", worlds away.

Departing and still upon return, I find myself in close quarters with grief. Grief about how over-full life is. Grief about finally committing to weaning, of that rushed airport morning being his last "num num" for the rest of his life. Grief about everyone I love aging, and time passing. Grief about how much precious time has been lost to fear, worry, managing. Grief about violence on all levels and the state of the world. I wished to leave all that grief behind, then in classic "Emily" style found myself holding space for others to grieve. Though I left those mountains feeling so, so blessed, I still left with grief close by, like an overly friendly shadow always by my side.

I am lucky enough to...

On Shame, by Quetzal

8/6/2019

Art by Jaiva Sicke

Shame has been on my mind quite a bit lately, in particular ways that shame gets used as a tool to keep us disconnected from ourselves and each other.

I’m lucky to lead and share spaces exploring this theme with girls and women of all ages. While decades separate many of us, I can’t unsee the parallels and similarities in the stories where shame governs us. The details and names in our stories may be different, but the core feelings are the same - isolation, pain, and secrecy.

Brene Brown defines shame as “the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging”. Unlike guilt, shame doesn’t attach to...

Why is Generation Z So Anxious?

7/29/2019

I'm proud of my husband Jed for being on the front lines as a teen and family therapist. His workplace just published this article about Gen Z, highlighting another great piece about stress, so I'm sharing both articles with you!

Today’s teenagers and young adults are increasingly reporting feeling anxious, stressed or depressed. Supposedly 91%! But why?

At first glance, it may seem like today’s young people have it pretty good... everything available instantly at the touch of a button. But is this high-tech world causing more stress than it’s curing? Take a look at some of the reasons that teens are so anxious.

LINKED ARTICLES:
Why Is Generation Z So Stressed Out, Paradigm Malibu
Why 90% of Generation Z Says They're Stressed Out, Psychology Today

Talking to Teens About Vaping

7/25/2019

Vaping is generally understood to be less risky than smoking. But not vaping is healthier than vaping - even for a generation of teens whose cigarette use is at a 40-year low. So how do we have successful conversations with teenagers about the hazards of e-cigarettes? Here’s a guide to how you might address vaping — or almost any other form of risky business — with the teenagers in your life..."
Keep reading to see our QUICK GUIDE or view full article here.

On Lowering Standards & Doing It Anyway

7/20/2019

This morning I splurged on a babysitter and made it into the hills. I saw bunnies sunbathing, flocks of birds moving as one. I saw big bumblebees lost in giant violet thistle flowers, inspiration in the last wildflowers painted pink across the hills. I saw a family of quail with a bunch of fluffy new babies, so teeny tiny they'd all fit into my hands. I saw the sun and sky and wind across the dry land. And they all saw me. I was given a huge turkey feather, an owl feather, and some herbs as I walked.

To everyone but especially the mamas - Go. Just, go. It won't be enough. Go anyway. Bring less than you think you need. Go lightly. Weave yourself back into the village you long for with your steps, your breath, your natural pace.

Take off the weight of other people's needs, only your treasures in hand. Don't bring the book you've been wanting to read for months. Don't do any errands on the way. Go empty as you can. You don't have the time, money or freedom to do it. There is something else you're missing. Of the many gifts we're given, more time is not one of them. Go anyway. You are worthy.

Love you, Mama Emily

Sex Positive Parenting :: Raising Sexually Healthy Children One Talk At A Time

7/1/2019

We love the SPP's latest article on Becoming the Sex Positive Parent I Needed.

We also appreciate their recommended reading about new books and resources to help all of us get in, or stay in, the conversations we need to be having - at any age. Like this Let's Talk About Bodies: Sex Ed Rescue, or 10 Do's & Dont's of Sex Talks.

Power ColLABorative

6/30/2019

A culturally responsive, SEL-based training for professionals who work with girls. Training Options around the Bay Area: August 1st-2nd, 5th-6th & 26th-27th

Our friends at Girls Leadership are offering an awesome Social Emotional Literacy training and collaborative workshop! My dear mama-sister Mia will be heading this up. She is a total bad ass! Check it out...

<<Previous

We must learn from those who came before us, and share our stories with those who come after.