Part One - The Rewilding Series
A Lesson in ‘control verses flow’
When I first started creating and offering workshops, I had the all the content mapped out on paper – from start to finish.
I had so much to share and I wanted to ensure I didn’t miss a thing!
I smile when I think about it now – the way I was so fixated on how the day ‘should’ look, that I missed simply being in the moment.
In Part 1 of the Rewilding Series, I had the foundations for the workshop in place, but my intention was a little different this time.
It was simply to open the space and allow ‘the work’ to move through us.
This allowed each participant to help weave the day into what it became - a day of deep reflection and connection.
If there’s one thing this work is teaching me, it’s the fine balance between structure / control and flow.
Even when I think I’ve worked it out - something else drops in, asking me to lean in even further.
I shouldn’t have been surprised by what happened - when something arrived that was out of my control.
Just as the first participant arrived, I received a text message – informing me that our water tanks would be moved on that very day!
This would mean a tractor and several community members coming right through the middle of our gathering space.
- A space dedicated to reconnecting with the natural world!
As we opened the space, we were forced to sit with the noise of cars arriving, tractors starting, drilling, and loud voices.
Our mindful walk down to the forest was far from quiet – it was noisy, disruptive and (on my part) very triggering.
Luckily, the noise of the outside world faded into the background, as we moved closer towards the forest.
The loud voices and machinery were taken over by the sounds of birdsong and the gentle flowing creek.
When we set an intention to work with something – everything that enters the space has meaning and purpose.
The work on the tanks perfectly symbolised our current lives – loud, busy, moving and often chaotic.
The question of how we navigate the busyness of life whilst heeding to our wild calling, naturally arose.
While we were in the forest, we were able to block out the ‘outside noise’ – but it didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
Luckily without the rigid structure I’d once held so tightly, we we’re able to spend more time in the forest.
An invitation to awaken the senses led to gentle amblings through the forest, the discovery of a tiny red fungi and an array of mosses.
It almost felt like time stood still as we dropped into present moment awareness.
When we finally wandered back to our base, the noise and chaos had dissipated – the lesson we needed had been received!
We can’t control everything in life - but if we allow ourselves to flow – we can usually find another route (often even better than the first).
We can learn from the ‘obstacles’ that block our path and draw on their wisdom.
The natural world doesn’t throw its arms in the air and put everything on hold when an obstacle arises.
When a tree falls into the creek, the water simply finds a new way to continue flowing.
What happened during the workshop couldn’t have been planned.
It’s what happens when we set an intention, open the space, and allow what needs to come through - without the need to control how!