Bumble bee butts.
The summer works its way slowly, warmly, hazily towards Lughnasa / Lammas with fluttering butterflies and the constant familiar rumbling hum of bumble bees as they bump their way into numerous foxglove flowers.
Their buzz is momentarily amplified hy the trumpet like flowers, drawing attention to the cute comical clumsiness of their situation…repeatedly wrangling with a furry bottom which, politely put, is a little large for some of the foxgloves.
Swallows dart elegantly against the blue sky, chatting excitedly to each other as they swoop to catch flies low over the lake near our home.
And tiny Roe deer bring their fawns into the cool leafy protection of the ancient woodland.
It often strikes me that all these lives, all this energy continues on regardless.
The spiders knit they’re webs meticulously every day, and each morning they are decorated with glistening diamonds as the cool night gives way to a warmer sunrise and he knows nothing about man made dramas ..news… current affairs… politics.
The field mouse who lives in our steps is way too concerned with figuring the best way to eat the enormous leaf she’s just found to wonder or worry about what might be happening in a country on the other side of the world.
She doesn’t even know there IS a country on the other side of the world.
Sometimes I long for the apparent simplicity of these important tiny lives and I wonder if, as humans we have made our lives so complicated and yet so safe, so predator free and comfortable that, as a species, we need to recreate the adrenaline rush of flight or fight through movies, video games and the News.
I don’t watch the news.
I have, in the past, been accused of being an ‘irresponsible citizen’ because most of the time I am completely clueless as to what’s happening in our country and the world.
I’m not ashamed of this at all.
I grew up in a household that watched the news three times a day, like some kind of social obligation or religion maybe?
If a major event occurred then TV would, for days, relentlessly blare out the continuous dramatic speculation surrounding the issue. Opinions, predictions, possibles and maybes … until finally the true outcome was revealed and we all relaxed as most of the time it was far less dramatic than the hours of chatter, conversations and interviews had suggested.
But the emotional rollercoaster that we had all experienced was exhausting.
Now, if I spend any time with the news I see it is worse than ever, a constant barrage of shock, scare, shock, scare… I guess the best way to keep the viewers and sell papers.
We are all so connected to this relentless stream of information, this loud, persistent, attention seeking world, where through the media everyone is vying for your attention, from the news headlines to the latest dance craze on TikTok. Social media encourages us every day to create more outrageous content … make videos, talk… get louder, be more visible.
Exhausting.
It seems obvious to me that without balance, this unrelenting noise is causing the world to feel wired, dizzy… unthinking.
And yet…
I feel like I’m noticing the tiniest shift.
It is just me, or does there seem to be a growing interest in some form of spirituality? I’m not talking about organised religion … more a resurgence of ancient wisdom, ritual.. the magical life force of the universe?
I feel like everywhere I look there are people who are practicing herbal medicine, foraging, celebrating the wheel of the year… tuning in to a more intuitive way of living.
Am I just experiencing the echo of my own beliefs being mirrored back to me through social media?
Maybe …
But I do feel that the more authentically I express my beliefs through words, actions and design the more of this I see.
I am finding my tribe and my tribe are finding me…
Sending out an intention to surround myself with positivity and calm, love and a deep inner calling to a beautiful, ancient spirituality.
For me it doesn’t have a name, or a modern label..
just an earthy…
damp…
mossy…
Solid…
Grounded feeling.
Like some ancient wisdom is reaching out from the forest floor and gently taking my hand …
Guiding me to open my eyes to the world around me once again.
Take a moment.
Breath.
Listen.
Smell.
Remember.
Is it just me?
Can we find balance ?
In such an insanely short amount of time we have become reliant on the internet, gadgets, phones ..
I run our entire business through my phone .. I’m even writing this, right now, on my phone.
I answer emails … use the timer to cook, look at photos of my loved ones, research for design projects … shopping … I even found my cats via my phone.
My cats … Lilith and Betty are the first of our animals who have grown up with us staring at our phones. Who just accept this tiny rectangular barrier between my face and theirs as ‘normal’.
They are horrifyingly unphased by my unawareness of their presence while I’m concentrating on answering this or that or posting the other….
They’re used to it.
Our old cat Ramsay was with us before phones were such a big part of our lives and he was always letting us know that we needed to put it down… he’d paw at my arm if I was working on it too long. (Aka ignoring him!!!) but Lilith and Betty have grown up to be more independent from us… and the self consciousness I feel when they’re around and I’m working on my phone … again… is really shocking to me.
Their whole behaviour has been shaped by my phone…. My behaviour.
It’s unrealistic to suggest ditching this incredible technology.. and I wouldn’t want to. I like it. I enjoy it.
But..
It’s all about balance … right?
Can we find a way to reintroduce moments in our day away from the noise?
Where we can touch the soil, hear the birds .. take more moments to chat to the cats and hear about their day?
Leave the noise …
Walk away.
Just be in a place where no one is vying for your attention.. except maybe a cat or two ..
or your family.
Or the bees.
Take a moment to remember the old ways.
Tailtiu the Celtic Earth goddess, celebrated at Lammas reminds us to celebrate the balance of nature …
she reminds us of the rituals, the blessings we used to bestow on the earth, the trees the elements.
The gratitude.
Be humble in the presence of this incredible world and just breathe it in.
The noise can wait for a moment.
Or two.
Image Credit: Huge thanks to the wonderfully talented Amy Higgins for giving her permission for me to use her beautiful illustration.
Tailtiu and the Goat God by Amy Higgins, Black and Bone
