Engage Your Hands
This morning I gathered herbs for a friend who is healing. Comfrey and motherwort. As my feet touched the earth, as my hands held and cut the beautiful plants, I whispered to them: You get to heal our dear friend today. Thank you for helping her. In those moments, I felt so deeply alive, so full of life, so awake. And I thought of you all.
See here is the thing. (I am going to be really strong in my wording today.) In order for we humans to be fully alive, we must engage our bodies in the real living world around us. We must connect our beings with the art of living. There is no exception to this.
I come from a family culture founded on living a handmade life. For generations, we have been commited to growing our food and herbs, preparing beautiful meals, splitting and stacking firewood, creating, building, designing, mending.... This is the sustenance of life for us. I took it for granted as I became an adult, thought everyone had this lifestyle... then lost track of it as I got busy in my career. Then I burned out and became so depleted I didn't recognize myself anymore. So exhausted I couldn't even go for a walk. Let me tell you, it was the scariest time of my life.
I have done many things to reclaim myself and my life. You hear about them every week. I need to now tell you about one of the most vital things: Engaging my hands back into the art of living. This is so important.
We as human beings have survived because of our skilled hands, our honed instincts and our attuned senses. And we are now forgetting. We are forgetting that the time-worn skills our ancestors knew are also what created a meaningful life. We are forgetting that physical and sensory connection to the land, the weather, the seasons, and the very stuff of life is essential to our design as human beings.
I know that many of you are likely saying that you love living in a world filled with computers and phones, coffee to go... that you don't have skills around mending or creating. Perhaps you have never desired them. Cool. No problem. I'm still going to recommend that you take a step toward engaging your body with the life around you..
Our true human design wired us to need building, mending, creating, designing. Our nervous systems are literally re-wired, for the better, when we engage our hands and hearts with life around us. We can't be whole without this.
Here are some places to start:
Make your own coffee ( I don't actually recommend that you drink coffee, but if you do...). Grind it. Preferably with a crank grinder, smell the aroma, press the grounds in, pour the hot water, make a ritual of this.
Hand-wash dishes. No gloves on. Enjoy the warmth, the silky and soapy beauty, and the satisfaction of sparkling dishes.
Pull out a needle, thread and sharp scissors (if you have them), and a piece of clothing that needs a repair. Sew a button back on, repair a seam. Ask someone to help you if needed. You might hear a good story as you work.
Rather than buy a card for a friend's birthday, make one: Cut up/repurpose old calendars or pull out markers and create something unique. Your friend will be touched.
Put some seeds in the soil and water it every 2-3 days. Grow something you love to eat, and feel the wonder of it as it grows, then becomes part of the nourishment you offer to yourself and to your people.
Cut a bouquet of flowers. Smell the scents of the flowers, the leaves, the earth. Who cares if you do it well or not. Just be there with the experience.
Offer to help someone with a project. Not only will you learn a new skill, you will also experience the deep satisfaction that is specific to working in tandem with another person. There is a certain synergy that happens in these moments.
Write an actual letter. With a pen and some paper. And a stamp. Our brain processes differently with paper and pen (rather than with a computer). Both the writer and the reader experience this.
Hold and love a baby. This is one of the straightest paths to connection with life that I know.
If you are someone who loves this idea, go further. What does living a handmade life mean to you? Start dreaming and really hearing your desires. What have you always wanted to do, small or large? What are you waiting to do, if only you had more time, more energy, more money.... It's the "if only" impulses that guide us toward ourselves, toward living a life that really matters.
I could write about this for days, but I will stop here.
Write me back, please tell me now this lands.
Mwah,
Rebecca
