New Raise In Place Essays: Being better at a human scale and more...
Every so often I round up our most popular pieces from our Substack, Raise In Place, a weekly newsletter and sometimes podcast exploring our natural capacity to nurture, unpacking its ties to our consciousness, healing, and our relationships with our dearest.
In it's 3rd season we're taking inspiration from Mary Oliver's poem, Sometimes:
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
And exploring connection through the intentionally crafted and subconscious stories we tell ourselves and each other.
These are the top 3 stories of season 3:
1. Being better at a human scale
Years ago, as we watched our 6-year-old daughters play in the forest, I found myself with an uncomfortably apathetic conversation partner.
Observing these new young friends confidently navigate a wild autumn forest, planning their next challenge astride branches 10 ft high, I was inspired to chat about building character.
Raise In Place Essay: Being better at a human scale
“They’re so confident…Seeing them climb and plan way over there. I can help but think how important it is that our children know themselves and discover their own interests and internal motivations.”
I pause.
2. War, Peace, and Family Stories
“Will you come to the assembly today? It’s in the gym.”
It was 7:12 am, and the sun had only risen minutes before. I raised our blinds and clipped them, letting the soft pink and gray light usher our minds towards awakeness.
Illustration of a girl watering a flower with tears from Raise In Place essay War, Peace, and family stories
That was the first question Isla asked me this past Friday morning. The first thing my child wanted to know. War was on her mind.
And it was on my mind too.
3. Parenting as a practice
What do you practice?
Yoga? Basketball? Piano?
prac·tice - /ˈpraktəs/
verb 1. perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency. 2. carry out or perform (a particular activity, method, or custom) habitually or regularly.
There’s a comfort in performing the rituals around practicing. The nature of our practices allows us to put our defences down, opening up to new possibilities.
Parenting is a practice.
Parenting is a regular performance of patience and compromise and a ritual of compassion and generosity.
And there is liberation from perfection when it comes to viewing parenting as a practice.