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I have been lucky enough to meet Play Expert Yesim Kunter and together we are developing ideas for a Vulnerability & Play workshop at monthly playdates.
Here is a short video of some work in progress. In this exercise we are looking at shedding negative labels and limiting beliefs, to reveal hopes and dreams.
Having previously taken part in many of the Craftivist projects, I was very happy when Craftivist Collective founder, Sarah Corbett invited me volunteer my embroidery skills and craftivist experience at the latest Tate Late event. The line-up of music, film, performance and discussion was focused on celebrating women in art. Sarah took inspiration from artist, Suzanne Lacy’s, The Crystal Quilt which is currently on display at the Tate. The artwork was created in 1987, inviting 430 women over the age of 60 to share their views on getting old, and is currently displayed as a video, quilt, documentary, sound and photographs,
“The process was consciously guided by a desire to represent diverse ethnic and social backgrounds alongside life experience and achievements, forming an active comment on the representation of older women in the media.”
Craftivist participants were invited to embroider a ‘patch of hope for 2017,’ by selecting a word that they felt we need more of in our world today and taking time to reflect on how they can bring more of it into the world as they stitched. Once they had completed their patch they were invited to pin it to themselves and in doing so be part of a walking human quilt of hope.
I began by starting on my own patch, naturally choosing the word dialogue for something that I would like to see more of in the world today. I am tired of listening to divisive debates, full of insults and meaningless statements. I would like to see space and time for us to listen deeply to one another, reflect, understand and share meaning in a non-judgemental way, so that we can create the new thinking that we so desperately need in our current global climate. Diaogue combined with creativity has the ability to engage people in issues and their own emotions and values, in an effective and transformational way.
We had over 300 hundred people pass through and create their patches over the course of the evening, and during that time I had many meaningful conversations with the people who took part. It was lovely to see such a diverse range of age and gender; I had conversations with an older American couple who had chosen to spend their last night in London at the event; the wife had recently taken part in the women’s protest march in Washington DC and the husband was a school teacher who fittingly chose the word nurture for his patch. Needless to say they had great concerns about the future of their country, but were inspired by the energy and optimism of the event. It was beautiful to see a Muslim mother and daughter embroidering in Arabic the word peace, and I greatly enjoyed assisting the daughter’s embroidery skills as she had never done any before.
It was striking to see a room full of people, engaging in conversation with friends and strangers, enjoying the relaxing and meditative activity of craft and embroidery and without a single smart phone in sight, apart from when it came to share the final outcomes on social media! The energy created was amazing, and really proves both how important it is to provide people with creative and accessible outlets to explore their current concerns about the world, and also to gently push some people to think about their words and actions in a more meaningful way. We are all at different stages in our journeys with our thinking, values, concerns and contributions to our current world, and events like this make space for everyone, at whatever point they are at. I for one am certainly feeling more hopeful for the world after taking part in the event!
If you would like to find out more about the Craftivist Collective and how you can get involved please visit their website https://craftivist-collective.com/
I was invited to speak at the School of Economic Science as part of their latest Inspiration Day - Welfare of the World. I spoke about Emotional Sustainability in Practice and why I think creativity and dialogue are such important tools as agents for change and how I use them in my work and projects.
I was one of eight speakers, all of whom were very inspiring and insightful. It was a great day and I am very grateful to have been a part of it.
As requested by some of the attendees I am posting my presentation slides.
The majestic oak trees at 42 Acres
I was lucky enough to attend a two day retreat at the beautiful 42 Acres in Somerset led by Satish Kumar and accompanied by his wife, June Mitchell.
Satish is a leading peace and environment activist who was until this year editor of Resurgence Magazine. He famously walked an 8,000 mile peace pilgrimage at the age of 25, from Ghandi’s grave to Washington DC via Moscow, Paris and London to deliver packets of peace tea to protest the nuclear bomb.
Now 80, he lives in Devon with his wife June, is a visiting fellow of Schumacher College, which he co-founded in 1991 and speaks around the world. He is the author of You Are, Therefore I Am: A Declaration of Dependence, The Buddha and the Terrorist, Spiritual Compass: The Three Qualities of Life, Earth Pilgrim, Soil, Soul and Society: A New Trinity for Our Time and his autobiography, No Destination.
Satish, June and myself
The theme of the retreat was Satish’s new holistic vision for the world, focused on a trinity of Soil, Soul and Society, where human well-being depends on the well-being of the natural world for we are all interconnected, interdependent and interrelated.
This vision takes us from the dominant narrative of Anthropocene; that nature is there as a service to humankind and a resource for the economy to one where nature is accepted and embraced as the source of all life. Supported by theories of Holistic Science, nature is alive, and in this trinity soil represents nature. Often overlooked in environmental discussions, soil is the producer of life, and maintaining the quality of the soil is a priority.
“The greatest security comes from love; love of nature, the earth, people, yourself.”
Satish’s advice to those of us who believe passionately in the preservation and protection of our planet is that even when things are very urgent, you have to have patience and action; be active without expectation that you will achieve the result immediately, but know that the action itself has value.
The soul within the trinity is the personalised, intimate and unique element of the spirit, and the truth of it is in your own experience and in your heart.
“An artist is not a special kind of person, but every person is a special kind of artist.”
Satish encourages us every day to ask ‘who am I?” knowing that we are beyond any label or physical reality. He advocates making time for yourself, as taking care of your soul is taking care of yourself, as we journey towards being and our authentic selves.
“Spirituality is not a belief system. Spirituality is to relate through generosity, compassion, love and beauty.”
Society is about union; nothing is separate, and we are all members of one human family. Satish promotes diversity as a celebration of evolution as opposed to division which is a social construct. He believes we need to revision economics to be smaller and local, in keeping with his friend and colleague E.F. Schumacher, author of the famous book, Small is Beautiful: A study of economics as if people mattered. Within globalisation, everything becomes a commodity, whereas within a local economy, it is more important to meet the needs of the people. Ultimately it is not possible to have infinite growth on a finite planet.
“I might be idealistic, but what have the realists achieved?”
Satish is a true inspiration and his approach to life; one of celebration, joy and happiness is certain to sustain us in our work towards positive environmental and social change.
We shared poems, stories and songs around this magical bonfire
The magical 42 Acres in Somerset, offers retreats covering various holistic, well-being and sustainable topics. The beautiful farmhouse accommodates 24 guests, is run on a solar farm and biomass boiler and offers the most delicious vegetarian food, comfortable beds and the restorative energy of the surrounding fields and woods. For more information visit their website 42acres.com.
42 Acres founder, Lara showing us the biomass boiler
