Dear Reader,
Last month, I wrote to you about the process of tending to the sweet seeds of germinating dreams…
I subtitled that letter “Rewilding in late winter.”
I realize that such a title may not clearly align with the contents of the letter in the minds of some, and that a working definition of the term “rewilding” might be necessary going forth in this space.
So, what is rewilding?
Rewilding is a rather amorphous cloud of related concepts, and can be difficult to pin down. Rather than attempt to define a singular use of the word, let me paint a gestalt of its core ideas. We’ll start with the origins of the word.
Cultural usage of the term rewilding:
A Google search will tell you that the word was coined by Earth First! member, Dave Foreman, back in 1992.
However, six years prior, Jesse Wolf Hardin wrote an essay under that term, which beautifully unfolds the possibilities inherent within a rewilded way of life, and how to begin embodying one. That article can be read here.
Branching from each of these two origin stories, there are two distinct, albeit related ways you will find the word used in common discourse. Foreman’s version of the term describes an environmentalist approach: it’s the process of allowing a piece of land to become wild again without the interference of humans.
The other, more complicated - and arguably more whole - use of the term arose out of Hardin’s essay: it’s the return of the anthropos (read: the human and all of its extremities - mental, spiritual, architectural and otherwise) to the wild.
It’s the latter use of the term that I’m most interested in, and the one I’ll be referring to most commonly going forward in this publication.
A Bird’s Eye View:
Rewilding, in its fullest sense, is the process of reindigenization. It’s the process of becoming in direct symbiotic relationship with our environments and the myriad of beings within them: from our human and animal kin to the plants, minerals and even the bacterial bioscapes.
The Rewilder understands that all matter matters, that separation is transient and mutable, that beneath our boundaries everything is connected and therefore our well-being is inherently interdependent.
Through this understanding, everything from a local, organic diet to deeply personal shadow work can fit into the purview of a life dedicated to rewilding.
By the same token, something that looks and tastes like rewilding might not be so, if done without regard for the relationships at play. Foraging, for example, may just be another ignorant arm of consumerist culture when done without regard to the needs of the plant species and its ecosystem.
Because of this nuance, one of our greatest skills as rewilders is receptivity. Our ability to listen, to pay acute attention, to learn and to understand - and then we must apply these abilities to those relationship dynamics where our species has long held a dominant and oppressive role. This is how we will begin to truly, deeply relate with the world around us, and our most primal selves as well.
A caveat:
What I call rewilding may not resonate with everyone. Someone with a harder line between the wild and the domestic might take issue with referring to anything made with wool as a rewilding effort - since sheep are a domesticated animal.
Personally, I don’t draw such hard lines. While we can learn much about our present by engaging with the past, I don’t think rewilding will look anything like a walk backwards towards a time before domestication. Rewilding isn’t something we’ve done as a species before, and so it couldn’t possibly come with a set of prescriptions. We must feel our way, through the process of deepening relationship. Only then will we discover how to rewild and what it does and does not entail.
An update:
Though I’m taking a moment in this month’s post to hash out some of the thought-forms that this newsletter is rising out of, I’d like to bring it back to the flesh for a bit.
This past month, the weather has been dancing between winter and spring here in eastern Iowa. It’s been a perfect time for scatter-sowing those flowering herbs that need a little bit of cold-stratifying before they can bloom when the weather warms.
I chose seeds that bring life overlapping, benefitting the diversity of species that live in my small space. Yarrow, echinacea, chamomile, valerian and nettle. Some offer flowers for sweet pollinators, some will feed the birds, some give life to the soil. All of them are long-held herbal allies of the human.
On a warmer day, before a cold spell, I sprinkled each into the earth in areas of their preferred sunshine and shade. I walked where I scattered, my feet nestling them into wet dirt and last year’s leaves, voicing prayers all the while.
This method of gardening doesn’t have guaranteed outcomes - and that’s part of why I like it. While I wouldn’t use it for a depended-upon vegetable harvest, it’s a way of gently relating to our other-than-human kin and seeing what grows. Some of those seeds will be eaten, some will grow, some might only show in a year’s time or more.
None were wasted.
A conclusion:
Rewilding is more than a trending approach to environmental ails, and it isn’t just for the conservationists and the cottagecore vignette; it is a solution to what humanity most longs for. It is the path back to natural, egalitarian abundance and deep-seeded belonging. It is the road to Eden. Paradise is already alive beneath our feet if only we will tend it.
I leave you with this poem, which holds all of the seeds for a life rewilded.
“You Are the Medicine” by María Sabina:
Cure yourself, with the light of the sun and the rays of the moon.
Heal yourself, with the mint and mint leaves, with neem and eucalyptus.
Sweeten yourself with lavender, rosemary, and chamomile.
Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and a touch of cinnamon.
Heal yourself, with the kisses that the wind gives you and the hugs of the rain.
Get strong with bare feet on the ground and with everything that is born from it.
Get smarter every day by listening to your intuition, looking at the world with the eye of your forehead.
Jump, dance, sing, so that you live happier.
Heal yourself, with beautiful love, and always remember… you are the medicine.