Thanks for this post, Rhyd. It's woven with hard-won knowledge, embodied clarity, the kind that marks the fulfilment of a particular arc within the journey of a life. I'm glad you're at the point where you could write it. Sending love to both of you from a beautiful, peaceful morning in western Massachussets, where I'm sitting in the library of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics.
Thanks Rhyd. I subscribe to a bunch of writers on substack and yes, they all seem to be in the game of this vs that, which I've found tiring. Before I read this I was in the process of unsubscribing to many of them and have decided to get on with the business of writing my own music, poems and practicing my rituals. I can only work on myself - to neglect it sacrifices much of my personal power. Thanks for the affirmation.
There’s so much here I relate to and have experienced. Once upon a time after an utterly life altering tower event, I went to a therapist trying to find my way through the ruins of my life. I was living in the US south at the time and had little money so ended up experiencing the worst parts of our health care system and finally managed to find a particularly bad therapist. His first words were “I don’t normally see patients like you because so many of you kill yourselves.”
While these words were careless, uniformed for multiple reasons, and could have been incredibly harmful, they were exactly what I needed to hear.
It was this event that let me know that I was on my own and I was responsible for my own care and had to help myself. I signed up for the gym that same day and didn’t stop running and working out for two years. It profoundly changed everything around me and brought me back from the dead.
Partially due to earlier post of yours I have recommitted to exercise and the gym. It’s taken longer than expected but I’m back to running 20ish miles a week and regularly going to the gym. (Currently writing on a bench post gym visit.)
While I would recommend meditation to anyone, there are many days when the only thing for me that can effectively clear the mind is running 5 miles. Also as a habit it encourages self-realignment, regular sleep, being more conscious of diet, limiting alcohol intake, etc.
Theoretically I agree with this; actually, I'm 76 years old and partially paralyzed so I need a strategy that doesn't involve running or lifting weights. Options are nice if you can get 'em...
i'm no expert, but based on my (very limited) understanding, the vital work of maintaining right relation with the immaterial world is best done by those who understand the hard limits of the physical form. traditionally, elders and people with embodied challenges serve in this role, because they aren't wedded to their bodies in the same way as others. there is a lot of wood to be chopped and water to be carried in the more-than-human world, projecting beyond the body, and we desperately need people who can do this work.
Spot on about prolonging the pain, Rhyd! And so glad gardening helped yer lovely man recover. The connection with the soil is as important as the physical work, isn't it. Much love to you both!
thanks so much for this. i'm very glad to hear that you're both coming out the other side of a challenging time.
i've been thinking about crisis and the embodied experience of consequence too, albeit in the context of a deliberate (entheogenic) invocation of crisis. maybe taking psychedelics in the proper context is similar to going to the gym? both require us to know how much weight we can safely carry, and to maintain a certain level of supportive fitness in preparation for serious lifting.
always gratifying to be broadcasting on the same frequency as you.
Thanks for this post, Rhyd. It's woven with hard-won knowledge, embodied clarity, the kind that marks the fulfilment of a particular arc within the journey of a life. I'm glad you're at the point where you could write it. Sending love to both of you from a beautiful, peaceful morning in western Massachussets, where I'm sitting in the library of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics.
Thanks Rhyd. I subscribe to a bunch of writers on substack and yes, they all seem to be in the game of this vs that, which I've found tiring. Before I read this I was in the process of unsubscribing to many of them and have decided to get on with the business of writing my own music, poems and practicing my rituals. I can only work on myself - to neglect it sacrifices much of my personal power. Thanks for the affirmation.
Sometimes it's just sad and that's all there is and it hurts more if you pretend it's something else.
There’s so much here I relate to and have experienced. Once upon a time after an utterly life altering tower event, I went to a therapist trying to find my way through the ruins of my life. I was living in the US south at the time and had little money so ended up experiencing the worst parts of our health care system and finally managed to find a particularly bad therapist. His first words were “I don’t normally see patients like you because so many of you kill yourselves.”
While these words were careless, uniformed for multiple reasons, and could have been incredibly harmful, they were exactly what I needed to hear.
It was this event that let me know that I was on my own and I was responsible for my own care and had to help myself. I signed up for the gym that same day and didn’t stop running and working out for two years. It profoundly changed everything around me and brought me back from the dead.
Partially due to earlier post of yours I have recommitted to exercise and the gym. It’s taken longer than expected but I’m back to running 20ish miles a week and regularly going to the gym. (Currently writing on a bench post gym visit.)
While I would recommend meditation to anyone, there are many days when the only thing for me that can effectively clear the mind is running 5 miles. Also as a habit it encourages self-realignment, regular sleep, being more conscious of diet, limiting alcohol intake, etc.
All that is simply to say thank you.
Theoretically I agree with this; actually, I'm 76 years old and partially paralyzed so I need a strategy that doesn't involve running or lifting weights. Options are nice if you can get 'em...
i'm no expert, but based on my (very limited) understanding, the vital work of maintaining right relation with the immaterial world is best done by those who understand the hard limits of the physical form. traditionally, elders and people with embodied challenges serve in this role, because they aren't wedded to their bodies in the same way as others. there is a lot of wood to be chopped and water to be carried in the more-than-human world, projecting beyond the body, and we desperately need people who can do this work.
Thanks for this, Rhyd. Your words really resonated with me today.
Spot on about prolonging the pain, Rhyd! And so glad gardening helped yer lovely man recover. The connection with the soil is as important as the physical work, isn't it. Much love to you both!
thanks so much for this. i'm very glad to hear that you're both coming out the other side of a challenging time.
i've been thinking about crisis and the embodied experience of consequence too, albeit in the context of a deliberate (entheogenic) invocation of crisis. maybe taking psychedelics in the proper context is similar to going to the gym? both require us to know how much weight we can safely carry, and to maintain a certain level of supportive fitness in preparation for serious lifting.
always gratifying to be broadcasting on the same frequency as you.
Would you not consider voting for Harris as the lesser of two evils ? Or do you see an upside to a Trump reelection ? Genuinely curious...