#4 The Library of Interesting Things

Welcome to the March edition of The Library of Interesting Things.

Before we get there, I’ve a post for you about visioning, seeing trends and patterns, and then a special Wild Edge offer, for this, my birthday week- with a twist. Read on, or listen in! (If this post is shortened in your email, you may need to head over directly to Substack to read)

In the branches above, the chatter of birds, busy nesting, flirting, preparing. I’m sitting in my tiny back yard, newly swept, trimmed and tidied, welcoming the return of the sun as it is warming my back. It’s Sunday as I write this, and I am emerging from a few full weeks of teaching and mentoring. I love it all, but I also need to decompress afterwards, so both yesterday and today, I turned my phone off, taking some long walks, first to the woods, then tracking the coastline. The trees offer the wisdom of grounding, laying deep roots, offering shelter and companionship. The sea, with it’s horizon, offering a new perspective of a long arc view, of the questions of what’s just beyond, of taking time to see the full range scope of one’s vision, rather than just the next foot forward. Nature is such a generous elder, initiating this novice over and over into the depths of her grace. I bless the power of the trees. I thank the horizon for its scope.

After a busy period, I find I need to check back in with myself; asking where I am at in relationship to the intentions and vision I set out with at the start of the year, and which have been stirring through the dreamtime of winter. Now, as I sit with my coffee, I’ve been flicking back through my journal, reminding myself of my word for 2025 (STRONG), and the projects I’ve laid out, based on my core intentions. (This is part of the process I lay out in my Intentional Year Guidebook- which I know some of you here have been following too). I’ve just re-read my Letter from the Future, and realise that things I’ve said there are already slowly coming to fruition. It gives me momentum to continue.

I think this is so much the power of visioning and journaling processes - the words we lay down on paper are seeds, gestating first, then slowing bearing fruit. Perhaps not all will make it this year, but the sowing is part of tending to the possible. Sometimes it takes years for a vision to grow, but still, each year we tend to it.

It’s never too late to write your own Letter from the Future. Just pick a date a year from now, and write a letter back to yourself from that future date, as if it’s already come true. (There is even a website, Future Me, which you can use to do this. It will email you back on a date you pick). I am very cautious about words like manifesting, as they have got so spun up in spiritual gobbledygook that they are meaningless, but I do believe in the affirmative power of words as a way of writing ourselves into the future. Writing it on paper gives our dream valency, directness. It’s there for us to return to, when we need reminders of what our heart hopes for us.

Some of my vision for this year, as I wrote about in my own Letter from the Future, as been about growing The Wild Edge, and I want to take the opportunity this week, my birthday week (with a twist), to lay out some of that vision, and the why behind it. Then, I’ve a special discount for Wild Edge membership.

1. The erosion of time to think

Over the last few years, I have been tracking trends and patterns in the learning spaces and lecture rooms where I teach, across the organisations I work with, and at large. There are many wonderful things emerging, but also many concerning ones. One of these, is the erosion of spaces for quiet, reflective time to think. It seems very simple, but the risks of this erosion are huge: where it the time to figure out our values, our longings? Bombarded with noise, demands and opinions, I have seen a whittling of spaces to do the deep, often challenging work of figuring out what we believe in, what matters most to us, what we want to stand for. Our attention is so readily corralled into clickbait and advertisements. This week it feels so timely too, as the debate in the UK about teen online behaviours surges as a result of the harrowing TV show, Adolescence, bringing attention to the dangerous Incel rabbitholes of the manosphere, particular for young men. Cultivating spaces for self reflection and self awareness, whatever our age, feels even more precious and necessary.

2. The lack of spaces to form and change opinions.

As space for contemplation is being eroded, so too do I see the lack of spaces in which to form and possibly change opinions. The internet has become the domain of certainly over open questions, assuredness over wonder. To show up without a fully formed opinion is to be exposed to being labelled naive, weak, inconsistent, or worse. And worryingly, I see the spillover of all this into learning spaces, where the whole point is to change opinion- as in to grow, question, explore alternatives, be open to difference, challenge one’s own assumptions, see things from another perspective- all of this, the essence of empathy, so clearly in demand this days at all levels of our society. These basic learning skills are also at the foundation of forming compassionate, caring communities.

Increasingly however, which feels like a corollary, I am seeing lots more fear show up in the classroom. Young people and adults alike afraid of being exposed as weak or naive for not yet having a fully formed opinion. But isn’t that exactly what we come to learning spaces to do to- to learn, which is to change. And while there is a hesitation to be open, and seek connection, it’s what I see such a deep hunger for- the need to be seen, heard, supported, welcomed, respected, cared for. The need to be a learner.

3. The need for spaces to support the deepening and development of creative practice, and build the skills of reflective thinking.

Reflective practice is an essential habit which transforms experience into embedded learning. Without it, information and experience remains as is- at surface level, but with reflection, experience can be translated into insights, and over time into wisdom — that all too rare jewel in the learning crown, polished only through the practices and habits of critical reflection and quiet contemplation. Yet, like any writing practice, reflective practice is a skill. There are methods, tools and frameworks which can help, and at times, we all need the support of companionship and accountability to engage in it.

4. Spaces for creative ritual and soul nourishment.

Lastly what I want to write about today is the need for spaces for creative nourishment- spaces which feed our spirit and creative life force, for our hearts as much as our minds. Poetry, literature, music, dance, drama, painting - all of the creative arts, both as their output, but all into their practice and process, their making, is part of what can fill the void. Combine all that with the power of ritual, and it becomes super charged. I choose to follow the rhythms and rituals of the Celtic Calendar, as is based on the land and lineage which roots me, and like many indigenous cultures and calendars, holds great wisdom and depth.

As we make, create and celebrate the rituals of the seasons, we are enriched. And we share that process, it becomes not just food for ourselves, but can also be a feast for others.

I want to build a longer table.

While my hosting and convening, my writing and resources, may be a small contribution in the overall scheme of things, this is one of the ways I can show up, to be of service and offer my skills into the mix. The kinds of spaces required right now, those to cultivate the habits of pause, reflection, contemplation and transformative learning need a particular kind of holding- ones with boundaries, and guidelines, care and principles; skills which I realise I have been building for over 30 years now, since I first started hosting events and these kinds of learning spaces in my teens (that’s another story!). For now, The Wild Edge, along with my teaching and my work with Thrive School, is part of the vision for how I seek to show up now and be part of this conversation, and this learning. I can’t promise everything, but I can promise that I will do my best. The laying bare my vision feels a little vulnerable too. But that is when I know it is real. The butterflies are signs I care. For now, Substack is to be the home for The Wild Edge, but I sidle up to writer and Substacker, Emma Gannon, in declaring my ‘platform agnosticism’. The platforms come and go, but the ethos and community need not.

The Birthday Gift Offer

So, with all that said, I have a special offer for you.

It’s my birthday this week, on the 29^th. I don’t mind declaring it, because it is also about celebrating a person who was a very important figure in my life, my father, Jimmy. My father and I shared many things in common- love of the sea, and birds, and painting- but also, our birthday. When the 29^th came around, it was never just about me, but about celebrating our bond, and inviting others into that too. The beauty of the 29^th March was that it was never just about me- it was about him too — a kind of birthday I imagine the way twins might celebrate. I have always loved the date for these reasons. But while Jimmy’s memory and spirit lives on, he’s not around anymore to celebrate with me, and I miss it. But then I had an idea. Why not use it as a way to invite others to my table.

Until Sunday 30^th March, I am offering a 29% discount on annual membership of The Wild Edge.

You’ll get a huge amount for it.

Six writing sanctuaries and six poetry salons a year, seasonal resources, access to The Library of Interesting Things, plus access to regular creative practice Owl Hours. I’m offering a lot here, because I want more people to be able to avail of the spaces and kinds of learning experiences at The Wild Edge.

Your subscription is about supporting me to do this kind of writing andwork, and continue to invite others into it too.

The offer concludes on Sunday March 30^th, and it will be the only time this year I’ll be offering a membership discount. So if you would like to join the table, please, consider this your invite.

Thank you! And welcome

Clare. X

And a quick reminder of what else is coming up on The Wild Edge

Owl Hours:

Tue 25th March: 8-9pm Irish UK Time

Thurs 10th April: 8-9pm Irish UK Time

Poetry Salon

Sunday 13th April: 6-7pm Irish/ UK Time

Now, over to The Library of Interesting Things.

This is my monthly round up of things I have been reading/ watching/ listening to/ learning/ cooking and looking forward to.

It’s a feature for paid membership of The Wild Edge - a way of honouring my time to put this together, and my way of supporting my on-going work. All illustrations, design, photography and artwork are my own.

Thank you for being here.

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Welcome to The Library of Interesting Things