Joy as Resistance
Rewilding Mind
Hi there, it’s Hillarie! Rewilding Mind is a reflection on my experience leaving modern city living to pursue homesteading. It’s a calming read to help you slow down, be present, and find wonder in the everyday. Read on for ideas on returning to nature, finding ourselves, and creating community. 💚
Audio Newsletter
Hey friends,
Heat and sun over the last week have lured out lots of blossoms on my vegetable plants: cucumbers, peppers, squash, and beans all attempting to show just how abundant they can be. The sunflowers lining my little garden are stretching higher everyday and the heads of the flowers are starting to get thick. A clump of vibrant, pink lilies have finally pealed open and they are giving me life every time I look out at them.
I can’t help but feel a deep sense of awe and wonder when I see this kind of growth take place. When I witness these incredible flowers and plants that continue to show up every day with a deep knowing that the sustenance they need to thrive will be given to them. They spend no time fretting over what they lack or what used to be. Instead, they put their energy into creating beauty and abundance with what they’ve been given. They are the moment and I am taking notes.
After sharing my lament last week in Sad Girl Summer, I heard from many women experiencing their own summer sadness. Many felt the sentiment resonated and lots felt a sense of relief to have words for what they have been feeling. I am humbled and grateful to all who opened up. It reminded me that in the depths of struggle, there is power of solidarity. It reminded me that our ability to find hope comes from a place of shared understanding in our sameness.
So here we are, sad and broken in a system unconcerned with our humanity. But it is from this vantage point that we have the power to claim something that nobody can take away: joy. No matter how brief or fleeting, taking back joy is reclaiming time, energy, and space in spite of what systems of oppression have served up for us.
Joy is a force deeper and bigger than us. It is expansive and illusive. It is generated through simple gestures, but not easily found in the places we are taught to look. It is life and light, with no strings attached. The more our basic humanity is threatened, the more important joy becomes.
Joy is the essence of abundance. It laughs in the face of lack, fear, and scarcity. It is texture, vibrancy, and color that is increasingly missing from our sanitized and sterile world. It is the antidote to a one-dimensional digital world that we seem to be fading into ever more.
Joy is that which calls us into the present. It urges us to fall in love, to bear witness, to see ourselves as equals, and to humble ourselves to simple pleasures. It pulls us out of the anxieties of tomorrow and regrets of the past. Joy sees our brokenness and says, fuck it, let's party anyway.
Joy brings us into a magical synchronicity with those around in loving and intimate ways. We summon in through song, dance, and shared stories. It transports us physically, emotionally, and spiritually to a deep sense of freedom, even for a moment. In this way, joy is a powerful force that is incredibly dangerous to systems of oppression.
But how do we get there from here? For me, I have found joy to be more accessible when I do as my plants do and simply show up. I am learning to show up for myself, show up for my family, and show up for my community in more meaningful ways. This is, of course, easier said than done, but such is anything worthwhile in this lifetime.
Over time, the action of showing up creates a climate of safety and trust needed to foster moments of joy in everyday places and interactions. With enough grace and patience, showing up has given way to shared understanding our who am and as an individual and as part my community. It is from this vantage point that anything becomes possible.
Hit reply to share how you find joy in times of sadness or uncertainly. Thanks for reading and joining me on this journey. Take care, be kind, and we'll talk soon.
Hillarie