Hello My Name Is ...
Starting a new practice.
Taking time to pause and spend time with the plants i see along my walk. As i think of indigenous ways of learning, i think of storytelling, indigenous languages and relationships with nature. As someone who is disconnected from my ancestry I am thinking about how my ancestors built their land based relationships, and i think it would have started with spending time and paying attention to the other, to nature (who at that time probably wasn’t considered an ‘other’ i think). So ill start taking time with plants and thinking about what i can learn thru them.

Soft strength. They are snowdrops (or Galanthus, which in Greek means milk flower) and are native to Europe and the Middle East. As i hung out with them i thought of how brave this little plant had to be to pop up while it was still cold, could the cold come back and kill it off or could the snow crush it or could ice come and freeze it? And yet it came up anyways. And how bravery signifies new beginnings and fresh starts. And how fresh starts can be cyclical, every year we have a spring, every year these little flowers have to be brave and mark a change in the seasons for us. They aren’t as delicate as they look because they carry a lot on their shoulders, you can be both strong and delicate at the same time. ID a ‘hello my name is’ name tag is held in front of a bunch of snowdrops. In each of the different posts the name written on the name tag changes from brave, to spring, to fresh.
Trees are teachers too. Trees teach us you can do what you need to do, which might leave you looking like you do, in order to get what you need. They don’t strive to conform to MY idea of a tree. And i gotta admit that my default is usually conforming to society’s idea of who i should be - and i need to resist that every day, in order to make space for me to be who i actually am instead. The bump tree taught me it is a home unto itself and in that way it is a home for others - all because it won’t conform! ➡️ What is your favourite, non conformist feature? ID a “Hello my name is name tag in front of an old tree with very bulbous and bumpy edges.


Sweet smelling delicate little bells. Bunched up together in numerous clumps. But don’t let them deceive you they are stubborn and tough, not easily separated and not easily crushed. They remind me that you can look cute and sweet and you can be strong. They also remind me that even tho they all look the same at a glance they are all unique and I was just as obsessed with each and every one 😍 This shrub has many names in English, my favourite is Andromeda. It is Japanese and it’s indigenous name is Asebi, meaning “the tree that inebriates horses”. It is poisonous and can cause death or make you look drunk - depending on how much is ingested. It is used for bonsai and for the wood, sometimes for its toxins. I will enjoy the flowers as long as they last. Anyone have any other fun facts about this sweet, bunchy, stubborn shrub? ➡️ How do you bring sweetness into your life? ID a “Hello my name is” name tag infront of a green bush full of white bell like clusters of flowers.
Feeling rich! The royal purple of this hyacinth made me feel luxurious and silky and the closest word I could think of was SUBLIME. It was admiration and awe for that colour. Am I the only one who 'feels' colours? I feel I do and this one made me want a Cadbury chocolate bar on a royal purple fleece silk sheet in a perfectly warm room. odd but anyways ... So RICH came to mind. because the colour could make me feel that way but also the chocolate silk sheet dream would require resources. Luxury is expensive. And maybe sometimes we gotta treat ourselves like we are luxuries. Care for ourselves as such, invest in ourselves as such, and demand to be treated as such. What would luxury based collective care look like? Is it a thing? Is it possible? And also UNIQUE. No other colour creates such a sensory response in me. And it's not even my favourite colour. lol. I know there is colour theory and psychology, so cool we evolved into beings that can engage with nature in this way. ➡️ What makes you feel sublime? ID a “Hello my name is” name tag in front of a dark dark purple flower


Making the unseen visable. When I paused at these crocus flowers I see what they had to say I began to think of their underground root system. Their UNSEEN interconnectedness is what creates channels of communication for working together to return each year in larger numbers. This made me think of how solidarity is often an unseen process. It is an internalized change in how we view ourselves and others in order to overcome what might separate us in order to work together. What is seen is the work we do, what might not be seen is our personal growth and relationship building. Crocus only last a during spring. But underground their life continues, their legacy continues and we will see it again next spring. ➡️ What is work that is unseen, that you would like to shed light on? ID a “Hello my name is” name tag in front of a purple and white flower, on a lawn that tis covered in them
Daffodils are ridiculous. They are so silly and extra. They are so 3D - trumpet in the front and star in the back. In thinking about how BOLD they are I got to thinking, if they bring me so much joy, why don't I step into my boldness, who knows who I might bring joy to when I do ... now to only figure out what 'being bold' means to me ... The idea of "it's never too much" also came to mind, and how some may call people who live that way EXTRA because they are alsways going the extra mile. But in how judging others in being too much we limit ourselves by creating invisible parameters around what "too much" might mean for ourselves in the eyes of others. The only parameters that matter to me are, "am I still being a caring member of this community?", outside of that I can be as bold and extra as I want, (once I am brave enought to step into it, but fully supportive of those that do cuz they are my inspo). And despite all this bold and exta energy, the dandelion has a FRILLY quality. Frilly as in feminine, as in delicate, as in soft edges. Being bold and extra doesn't mean hard. Yet often in society it might feel that way as we assert who we want to be. How do we hold on to the soft edges at the same time? How do we love them and value them just as much? ➡️ What emboldens you to take action? ID a “Hello my name is” name tag in front of a yellow daffodils


There is a time for everything ... That is what I was thinking on my walk today. There is a time to hide under the earth and be cozy, there is a time for the green fronds to peak up and welcome the sun and there is a time to shine and be the most VIBRANT shade of magenta possible. Lychnis coronaria is actually a flower from Europe and Asia, and is a popular landscaping plant. It has moved places, and it has also moved times ... It usually flowers in the late summer, it is mid June right now, we aren't even into summer and this flower is already signalling what would be the ending of summer. It makes me think about how my colon.ized mind loves schedules and calendars. Sometimes to make sure everything is always moving along, even when I need a break. But sometimes, like now, they are reminders that I should slow down - that we all should slow down. We have been doing the most for almost 100 years, the earth can't take it, neither can we. Vibrant orange cones on the roads reroute us, and this vibrant lychnis coronaria is like that - a sign that it is time to reroute and change things up. ➡️ When do you feel your most vibrant? ID a “Hello my name is” name tag in front of clusters of vibrant fuchsia flowers, each with about 5 or 6 delicate petals
"NEW" is better, right? I have been watching these fir tips grow for the last month. From little green baby fans to normal sized fir branches. I noticed them because when I was on my hunt for spruce tips (which turned out to be super hard to find in the city) these fir tips always tricked me! (both fir and spruce tips can be used in recipies such as cordial, syrup and salt for their Vitamin A and Vitamin C properties). I like to brish my fingers along plants as I walk past them. They are tender and soft, not as hard and pointy as the old needles. It made me think about how we can't have new unless we have old. And just because old stuff has hardened doesn't mean it is no longer relevant. It provides the structure for this new branches to grow on and protects the new growth. Soon the new growth will cycle to become old growth and support the newer growth. The new growth also still stands out with it's bright green color against the darker green of the older needles. It made me think of where in my life I am holding on and wanting to remain visible instead of providing support to newer folks. It make me wonder how I sunset myself (aka decenter myself), a practice that in this society where everything demands permancence, we have lost the practice of allowing for change where we do not stay in the same roles we once were. ➡️ What are some examples of sunsetting (done well) that you have seen? ID a “Hello my name is” name tag in front of a fir hedge with dark green needles alongside very bright green clusters of pine needles.


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