I just performed my song, “Out of the Woods” for the lovely group of folks of the “WEAV” gathering – Wellbeing Economy Alliance Vermont. Yes, a “wellbeing economy” is a thing, and the notion is based on balancing our overuse of resources with our priority of meeting everyone's needs.
For me, as a human and an artist, one of my steepest learning curves has been to overcome the fear and grasping that comes with immersion in a culture of competition and accumulation. I could go on a long diatribe. The short story is this:
About two years ago, I was reading The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Ph.D. Dr. Kimmerer is of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and has unknowingly taught me a great deal about un-thinking Western language constructs (English in particular) in order to open my thinking and expression to kinship and flow.
At the same time I was untangling my beliefs about economic survival (Serviceberry) and about my relationship to time and life forms, the U.S. was completing an election cycle that would result in, well, many changes that push my fear buttons – fear of poverty, oppression, violence, separation, the end of life as we know it … you get it.
Real or not, fast or slow, doesn't matter. I needed a song that would help me get through. I actually wrote several songs during that time – some angry, some allegorical. One angry and allegorical. But the song (of my own) that I turn back to to re-set my mind and heart is this one, “Out of the Woods”. The chorus goes,
The Earth is right here beneath us, The Sun still traverses the sky.
Breathe in, breathe out, and lean toward each other, And we can get by, we can more than get by.
The rest of it is about making decisions about what we're going to do if something happens and we don't have enough. Are we going to horde and hide, or share and support? Are we going to listen to our internal ruminations on fear, or to the lessons we get from nature and beings all around us?
("Where you gonna store your treasure? Where you gonna keep your goods? … What happens when a thief is your banker? What happens when you lose your work? … I will share my autumn harvest with folks all along this track, while a neighbor's woven sweater covers my back. You've got my back.")
There are other great songs to help keep our eyes on connection and relationship. One of them is “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen. Check them out. Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Lori McKenna, Amanda Shires.
Thank you, Dr. Kimmerer. I'm not always good at practicing the behaviors I know will help to transform our world – perhaps even save it. But I'm working on it.
Soon, I will get “Out of the Woods” recorded and posted up here.
Take care, folks. We're all related. ~Rosi