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Dear For The Wild Community, 

As we look forward to next week’s Solstice, we are thinking about all of the gorgeous abundance that the Earth offers, and all the ways our senses can delight in the slow, subtle magic that is this life. 

In The Fire Next Time, James Balwin writes, “To be sensual, I think, is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the breaking of bread.” As Baldwin explains, sensuality is not just about the “good” or “pleasant” realities of life, but is rather a practice of feeling deeply, of finding the space for presence, and of paying deep reverent attention. 

No matter where these times find us, how can we make space to be present to our realities, to the daily tasks that sustain us, and to the forces of love that bind us together? 

As a team at For The Wild, we are still resting deep in the slowness of our work, focusing on how we can show up for our community and for the Earth. 

In the spirit of Slow Media we want to share an excerpt from our most recent zine, At the Earth’s Pace: Meditations on Slow Media and Slow Being:

Above: Art by Lea Ostendorf

What governs how we move, where our attentions are drawn?

Embracing a humane and earth-borne pace, this zine is a space to meditate on what is worthy of our attentions, how we understand the precious time we have been given, and how we reckon with a society that both commodifies and devalues our attention.

Bringing together wisdom from Fariha Róisín, Rachel Cargle, Josué Rivas, Tricia Hersey, Jarod K. Anderson, and Báyò Akómoláfé, alongside ritual, prayer, and reflection, this zine is meant to give space for a slow, rich approach to life and the abundance that this world offers.

This zine also features incredible art from the For The Wild community: Richard Ely, Kendall Greene, Lea Sophia Ostendorf, Michaela Davis, Genevieve Rae, and Chloe Parsons

With 45 pages of content including: guided ritual, meditations, prayers, episode excerpts, hand-selected episode quotes, reflection questions, art from the For The Wild community and resources to further deepen your practices, we hope you find resonance with this offering.

Above: Zine cover art by Richard Ely

Read more by purchasing the zine here
or becoming a Patreon on a $5 tier or higher. 

Want to contribute?

If you are an artist and would like to have your art featured in one of our zines, submit your work here. 

If you are an author and would like to have your writing featured in one of our zines, submit your work here.

Episodes to help you embrace the Earth’s abundance and bask in reciprocity.  

How can a queer framework guide us as we move through this liminal time period? How can queer ecology radically change our way of knowing? This week’s episode acknowledges that in order to expand ourselves to our fullest capacity, we must bend beyond the cultural and gender binaries that dominant society projects amongst us, to begin this process we need not look further than what has always been.

Guided by culturally informed queer ancestral realities & futurist dreams, Pinar and So Sinopoulos-Lloyd of Queer Nature explore how queering our awareness can dismantle the supremacist, ecocidal, and genocidal existence we find ourselves in today.

In this quintessential For The Wild episode, initially released in January of 2015, Ayana speaks to eco-philosopher, author, teacher, and scholar, Joanna Macy. As we find ourselves alive in this time of great turning, where feelings of grief, despair, and gloom are omnipresent – we seek counsel from Joanna on finding emotional courage, building allyship, and practicing gratitude for all which moves us.

Joanna begins by reminding us that “the whole late capitalism project would have us distrust our feelings and privatize them”, instead of succumbing to denial, complacency, or isolation we can emerge from it, and move through it, to participate in radical transformation and collaborative action.

By accepting the truth of our times, we can see the world as our larger living body, freeing us from the assumptions and attitudes that now threaten the continuity of life on Earth. Joanna offers her wisdom for remaining sane and grounded as life-long activists in the uphill battle of ecological crisis.

Deeply Rooted is an offering devoted to inviting relief, balance and abundance into our lives during these uncertain times. We've brought together some amazing folks who we feel are wise stewards of Earth, spirit, community and bodily wisdom who will share a variety of grounding practices and coping tools to lend support during this unprecedented time where it can be easy to feel overwhelmed.

In this episode, brontë velez transports us through revolutionary prayer. We hope brontë’s incantation ignites your creativity and fills up your inner well with joy, strength and peace.

Lyla June returns to For The Wild bearing poems that imbue the rigid language of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) with embodied story and prayer. Lyla reminds us that when we yearn to truly speak the language of life, love and healing, we must turn to poetry. Lyla and co-creator Joy De Vito’s collection Lifting Hearts Off the Ground: Declaring Indigenous Rights in Poetry grounds the 46 articles of the UNDRIP in the lived experiences, languages and traditions of Indingeous peoples, as well as the perspectives and responsibilities of settlers on Turtle Island.

Lyla shares how the UNDRIP “begins to Speak of the sacred. To achieve its goal, the numbed world must come into the format of the sweat lodge.” In this rejuvenating interview, Lyla and Ayana embrace the natural laws that flow from land, language and culture.  

• How do you whisper your love to the Earth?
  How do you listen for the whispers it sends back?
  
  

• In seasons of blooming and fruiting, how can you honor the decay, patience, and slowness that led to such abundance?
  
  

• What is sensuality to you?
  When do you feel most alive in your senses?
  
  

• What do you want to soak in for this season?
  
  

• What talents do you have to offer the Earth, how have they been shaped by your human and more-than-human relationships?

We Want to Hear
From You

As For The Wild shifts to slower and more rooted content, help us learn how we might best honor your time and attention.

We’re looking for listener feedback on what you’d like to see from us, how our content has resonated with you, and what content feels worthy of your attention in these fragmentary times. 

Fill out the Survey here.
(Estimated time to complete is about 10 minutes)

We’re sending you solstice wishes for abundance, peace, and soft time spent in the sun.