WAYS TO PRACTICE RADJOY
You may have wondered, “Why would I want to spend time and attention on a place that’s been damaged or an animal species that is endangered? Wouldn’t that make me feel even worse about what’s happening to the environment than I already do?”
On the contrary, when we actually acknowledge our feelings about the desecration of so many forests, glaciers, whales, crickets, wetlands, rivers, songbirds and countless other aspects of the natural world that give our lives meaning, we realize how deeply they matter to us. Although we may feel sad, angry, or fearful when pay attention to what’s hurt on the Earth, something much bigger and more important also happens when we do RadJoy Practices: We discover how much compassion we have and how strong is our bond with the Earth.
RadJoy Practices offer you easy ways not only to acknowledge difficult feelings about wounded places and beings but also to put those feelings into concrete, creative form through the making of a simple gift for that place or being.
Below are a few practices that you can do alone or with others. Feel free to adapt them to whatever conditions or circumstances feel right.
You can find many more practices, including ones for a wide variety of specific wounded places, in 101 Ways to Make Guerrilla Beauty by Trebbe Johnson.
And be sure to let us know if you come up with new practices. We will consider including them here.
Dialog with Nature
Go outside—it doesn’t matter where. Outside could be a wilderness area, your own backyard, or a vacant lot. Wander around with an attitude of meditative expectation, looking and listening for what attracts your attention and interest. After you’ve wandered for a while, stop and sit with one nature “being”. This being could be a patch of crabgrass, a dead tree, a wildflower. Simply sit, noticing the details of this unique being that has called to you. Note its unique way of being itself. Note also the feelings and thoughts that arise within you as you consider it. Are you sad? Wistful? Happy? Does being there with that nature being remind you of any experience from your past? Talk to this being. Tell it what you see in it, how you feel about it. Then listen to what it has to say to you. Trust whatever comes to you. You will probably reach a point when you feel you’ve done enough, and you’ll want to get up and leave. Resist the temptation! Stay there a little longer and continue to pay attention. When you leave, thank the being for calling to you and revealing something about itself—and about you.
Night and Light
This exercise opens you up to the immensity and beauty, as well as the human-made clutter of the night sky. Go outside at night and make yourself comfortable. Gaze into the sky. Note what stars and planets you see, and what phase the moon is in. Reflect on how this perspective of the universe makes you feel. Then turn your attention to the lights that come from human civilization, including city lights, planes, and satellites. How do you feel about them? Let your thoughts wander, refusing to be satisfied with first impressions or judgments alone.
Simply Bow
Many times life simply does not permit us to spend time with wounded places or beings long enough to give them some attention. However, you can always take a small, simple action in honor of something that has been hurt or destroyed. This practice is especially useful if you’re in a car and see an animal that has been killed by vehicular traffic. When you pass by, simply bow your head or close your eyes in silent tribute. Thank the animal for its life.
Make a Gift for a Hurt Place
Visit an area where you know there has been damage to nature—human-made or natural. Sit quietly in this area, taking in the whole place. What is your first reaction? As you sit there for a while, note how your attention and your reactions shift. There is no right or wrong direction. Boredom is natural too! Do you notice only brokenness and ugliness or do you spot signs of beauty too? Or signs of nature rebounding after something has happened to it? What are these signs? How do they interact with the broken areas? Before you leave, make a gift for the place out of materials the place offers.
Make a Gift for a Hurt Place—the Nano Version
When you are walking, you have an opportunity to pay a slightly longer tribute to a place or being that has been hurt than if you’re in a car. If you come upon an animal or a place that has been hurt, you can also Simply Bow before moving on. And, if time and circumstances permit, consider making a small gift of beauty. For example, you can lay a wildflower on the body of the animal, or make a small design out of sticks, leaves, and stones for a place.
Cairn for Lost Places
When we learn about damage or threat to the natural world or to a place we love, we often feel overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness and despair. It seems there is nothing we can do with these feelings. This practice offers a small but tangible way of marking those difficult feelings and offering them up to the Earth of which we are all a part.
For the practice you will make a small cairn, a pile of stones. You can do it outside using field stones or in your house using pebbles or gravel. The point is to commemorate the threatened life of one of the Earth’s citizens and your own feelings of sadness about it. Every time you hear or read that some place or species is under assault, place a stone on top of or around your cairn. Speak aloud the name of the place or species you are thinking of, whose existence is threatened. After you have placed your stone, pause long enough to reflect on the life of that being or place. In future, you might want to meditate before your cairn.
Thanking the Outside Inside
No matter where you live, the natural world is part of your home. If you have house plants or pets, they may be the most obvious examples that come to mind. But there is probably wood in your house as well, in the windowsills or on tables and the legs of chairs. The pipes that supply water and heat are made of lead or copper. Sheep may have contributed to wool blankets. And of course, nature awaits your dining pleasure in your refrigerator. Open your awareness to the ways and forms that so many plants and animals have entered your home and your life. In these contemporary times, most of them are likely anonymous. Imagine the beings whose lives contributed to your well-being and thank them.