Myths, Firesouls and Song - June 23

#residencies

'myths, fire souls and song'
11th - 14th June 2023

This was my first residency with Intercultural Roots.

I had first encountered Dr. Andrea Maciel, one half of the Intercultural Roots initiating team some years ago.

We were both participants on a story telling course in Bristol. This in turn led me to book Andrea as my story teller for my first ever cabaret, A Salon for All Seasons.

Our paths crossing occasionally as I was deeply immersed in the business of parenting a teen towards adulthood,

Andrea was deepening and developing her practice

with new interdisciplinary offerings, culminating in the formation of Intercultural Roots with Dr. Alex Boyd.

And now, I was here, in the heat of mid June, surrounded by hills and lakes, forest and earth . . . the invitation to dive in to this residency entitled Myths, Firesouls and Song.

Cropped image of pregnancy image - lying down_edited_edited.jpg

I was curious to explore . . .

What is my own human nature connection now?

Now, that I am emerging . . .

Transformed through the crucible

that the role of mother offers.

How would it feel?

What's my relationship

to this wider body

of nature herself,

now I have been nature,

in the most

primal of ways . . .

The exploration of my own physicality, my love affair with water and testing my own physical capacity seemed to become my focus.

I swam several times a day, beginning each morning with a 30 minute walk before breakfast. Up a steep hill to immerse myself these crystal clear waters cascading down from the hills.

The delicious feeling of arriving warm and slightly breathless,

then within moments, enveloped by cool, clear water . . .

Each morning slightly different, sometimes solo,

sometimes in company, sometimes with others from the residency, sometimes with new companions, who, like me, were simply drawn to this wild beauty.

I felt reborn. Alive. Fully engaged. Within and Without.

Part of this wild nature reawakened to my own wild nature.

It was what I had been craving for longer than I could remember.

It was the bestest of gifts after the most challenging few years, but more on that here . . . should you be curious.

It was an unforgettable few days, and marked an internal turning point . . .