What a Wanderful Place

This morning, via a non-existent work party and the introduction to The Art of War, I have found myself exploring the wonders (and wanders) of Arnside Knott. And I have to say: I'm smitten.

Arnside Knott combines so many things I love - hilly undulations, the sea, trees, space, people enjoying being out and about, all sorts of flora and fauna...and it's virtually on my doorstep! I am far from being a familial trailblazer in this particular spot (my father having come here as a 16 year old) but I feel like I could come back here over and over and over again and find different paths let alone a constantly changing growth-scape.

And the wanderability of it is glorious. There are the obvious "main paths" and lots of "sub paths" but you're never a million miles from a sign that'll help you get your bearings if, like me, you're just wandering around with a vague plan of where you're heading but nothing set in stone. Admittedly, I had great fun perusing an Explorer OS map before setting out so have a bit of a picture in my head, but knowing I don't have to keep referring back to the map to make sure I'm not massively veering off track is wonderful. The rather significant features of the landscape help as well.

I came out without my camera this morning so have no illustrative photos, but I've come across some beautiful trees on my meanderings. Twisting and winding, straight up or curling around for reasons no longer apparent, these are trees that withstand some mighty winds and are mostly left to their own devices to come up with a path of growth that suits them. One tree in particular stands out - one of the major limbs (about a foot in diameter) had been torn (presumably by the wind) but had not completely sheered off, leaving an amazing section close to the trunk where the fibres of the branch had split into thick "sinews" - still attached at either end but with gaps  right the way through to the other side. That one in particular I think a photo would have done more justice to than I can in words.

And with lots of echoes of one of the fundamental principles of permaculture bouncing around in my head (that of observation) I've been enjoying lots of moments of stopping, being still and just taking in the scene around me. Another wonderous aspect of The Knott. Relatively untamed natured is (to me) utterly awe inspiring and invokes a meditative sense I struggle to capture in built up areas.

A wonderous way to spend a delightful Sunday morning.

Adventures in Permaculture

Not the beginning, and certainly not the end, but where I am right now.

I first heard about permaculture* many moons ago but my desire to get properly stuck in with the philosophy (and practical applications) of permaculture became apparent in the Autumn of 2012 when there was a residential Permaculture Design Course (72 hours of tuition) planned at a local venue...which I wasn't able to attend. 2013 saw me target finding a residential course that I could fit around other commitments. Found one, booked it - and had it cancelled at short notice. Nevermind, thinks me, I'll find another - and so I did! Booked it...and had it cancelled at short notice.

At this point it felt like I was pushing the river so I decided to stop looking for courses and see what happened. The time I'd already booked off work for the two cancelled courses was spent WWOOFing which was in itself incredibly valuable (and something I'm planning on doing more of in 2014) but I still felt the structure of the permaculture design course would help focus me on the topic in a way that reading the various books I'd got hold of hadn't.

And lo - at the end of December, I found a free online design course! Yippee! Now, I've already discovered various challenges with getting stuck into this course but I've looked for (and found) ways to make it work and am successfully trotting through the various video lectures...while undertaking various time-consuming-but-non-brain-engaging activities like stripping rosemary from twigs to dry it, or shelling cobnuts I picked in Herefordshire in October. Activities which feel pleasantly apt.

The course itself is currently covering a lot of material which is already familiar from the books I've read or other parts of my life, but is bringing said material back to the front of my brain. I'm revisiting a lot of the books which have been sitting forlornly on my shelves and I'm getting new inspiration for the various areas I can plant in.

As 2014 starts and I reflect on 2013's growing activities, I've unfortunately concluded that growing things in the area in front of my house is not energy well spent - as those plantings have frequently been targetted by vandals damaging the plants or pulling them out of the soil. I find it incredibly sad that anyone has a mindset that things vandalising plants is OK. But spending energy getting upset or angry, or, indeed, continuing to grow different things which just keep getting attacked isn't what I want to be doing just now. However, with other areas to focus on I have plenty of possibilities to keep me entertained! I haven't given up entirely on getting greenery in that area outside my house but as an "unsafe" zone for the time being it may just have to wait a little longer while I work out a better strategy.

Permaculture design focuses heavily on observation before starting to design and I can already feel the "Doer" in me wanting to get stuck in. I am, however, in the enviable position of having loosely observed the areas I can plant in for several, if not many, years. There's always more to learn from observing and I intend to continue refining my observation skills and collecting information about these different spots. But I also see 2014 as an opportunity to continue experimenting with various growings in preparation for future possibilities as yet not defined.

Already I'm seeing why permaculture holds such interest for me: much like NO HANDS Massage, it is founded on a lot of principles I already hold as important and yet takes them a step further, while weaving in new concepts I've yet to fully understand. Brilliant.


*There are a host of definitions of permaculture here - I see the applications of permaculture as incredibly diverse and exciting but as a newbie to permaculture land am still formulating what I considering to be my definition of the essence of it.

Resolutions & Plastic Bags

Much has been said about New Year's resolutions (good thing / bad thing / indifferent thing) and I see the arrival of a new calendar year as an opportunity to challenge myself to take another step along a road I'm already travelling. It's not a success / failure thing for me - rather an exploration of what changes I'm not making because I'm just being lazy, and which remain for other reasons.

Last year my resolution was only to buy Fairtrade Chocolate. I've long known about, and supported, Fairtrade generally and do make an effort to buy Fairtrade. However, last year I discovered that my own challenge with only buying Fairtrade Chocolate was in choice and availability - usually when I'm out and about and want chocolate, I want "light" chocolate. "Light" in my books translates as average quality, easy to eat and in a snack sized portion. Most vegan Fairtrade chocolate doesn't fall into this category - instead it's good quality, very rich chocolate in 100g bars. And that's when I can get my hands on it. I don't buy a lot of chocolate (generally gifts through the year keep me fairly well stocked) but when I want it, I often struggle to find a Fairtrade option which fits my needs. A very middle-class problem, I acknowledge, but that's the place I live. So I have returned to buying Fairtrade where I can (not just chocolate - and, infact, Traidcraft's Fairtrade wheat & quinoa fusilli is one of my staples) and bowing to my desires occasionally when I can't.

So - this year! This year is plastic bags - not to ask / accept them when I'm shopping. Again, I'm not starting from scratch on this - I've been avoiding getting plastic bags for donkey's years but, I believe mainly through laziness, I do occasionally fold and ask for one. Perhaps I haven't got enough capacity in the bags I've got with me. Perhaps I just didn't think to take a bag at all. But given how unnecessary (yet ubiquitous) plastic bags are, this seemed a good habit to sort out.

Already I've learnt my first lesson of plastic-bag-acquisition-avoidance: plastic bags are sometimes a very handy resource to have! I was buying tofu yesterday and the containers were a bit wet (in fact I think one has a slight hole in it) - the temptation to ask for a plastic carrier bag was high but being Jan 3rd I opted to take the lesson and get my backpack a bit damp on the cycle home. So now I just need to make sure I have a couple of plastic carriers stashed along with my cotton bags when I'm off out to buy this and that. More lessons I'm sure will come along but already this year's resolution is doing exactly what I want it to - challenging me gently to live in a way that's one step lighter on the planet.

Enough

Reflections in the past 24 hours or so have led me here. To this place of Enough.

Not "Enough's enough!"

Not "Enough already!"

But - enough. Sufficient. In fact, even plentiful. There is a simplicity in my life because I have enough. And for having enough (and the simplicity it brings) I am incredibly grateful. By having more than enough I find myself wondering what to do with the more - to hoard, to share, to give, to multiply - but that's a reflection for another day. Today is of Enough.

On every level. I am enough. I have enough. I give enough (or do I? This one I'm still pondering). My tendency is to strive for more, to do more and be more - and yet sometimes just being and doing is enough.

What worries me is the belief which pervades many areas of life of "not enough". I absolutely recognise there are times when more must be striven for, and done, and achieved - but very rarely is the message "Well done. That's great. That's enough. Now - enjoy". Perhaps I'm straying into the territory of "live in the Now" but my biggest concern in the area of Not Enough is simply consumption.

It's a new year now but barely a week ago was the culmination of festivities around Christmas. I'm not a Christian so Christmas is not my festival - but I also somehow don't embrace the "well, Christmas is a cultural thing now, so that's what I'm celebrating, being with friends and family..." view either. However, with so many around me wanting to celebrate at this time of year I gladly welcome the opportunities to be part of that - simply enjoying those opportunities for what they are, and if anything celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next.  I do enjoy seeing friends and family. I do enjoy sharing good food. I do enjoy creating decorations from the wonderful plant life that still thrives at this time of year (and particularly enjoyed making three foliage rings this year entirely from matter I was able to choose and cut myself - with a little bit of garden string here and there for good measure). But I really struggle with the material consumption side of things.

Now, it's not a Christmas thing alone. There is marketing year round for the latest phone or gadget, the next big thing in fashion, the must have toys - but the sense of obligation to purchase and give at this time of year is what I object to. Giving is a wonderful thing to do - being stressed and worried about what to give, and what to get, and who needs a present and whether you can afford it: that's not wonderful. That's horrid. And the potential judgment for not partaking - I heard a radio host deriding a colleague for being "tight" because said colleague and his family had chosen not to exchange gifts. They all had sufficient. None of them had children so there was no sense of "depriving the kids of the excitement of presents". And rather than playing the consumption game they simply chose not to. Brilliant. And yet so publicly "judged".

We live in a rich time. There is poverty and imbalance in the distribution of this wealth, but there is also, I believe, an oft unspoken truth, an "elephant in the room", that this richness will not last forever and is, in fact, incredibly finite.

There is some inspiring work being done by millions of people around the world - seeking sustainable alternatives, creating new technologies, looking for solutions in the problems - but I fear there is also a significant proportion of those able to choose to consume or not who choose to ignore the fact these resources are finite and plough ahead regardless.

And so for my part I'm recognising Enough. (Yes, it's the material consumption which is the easiest to understand and recognise as Enough - but it's also every aspect of Enough, not just materially.) In fact, I'm celebrating it. I look forward to the challenges. I look forward to what's possible. But I also am enjoying where I am, what I have and what I can offer. And in particular my material sufficiency - because the only place we can start any change with integrity is with ourselves.

Written as the dusk was falling (along with the rain) on Heysham Head