Hey loves,
I'd love to unpack a mindfulness concept in the context of... yes you guessed it... anthropology.
'Non-doing', 'just being'... wonderful ideas. Something to aspire to? Not for me. At least not in the environments and context it's usually suggested or offered.
In the wellbeing sphere being able to 'just be' is often seen as the holy grail of wellness. I'm not a sit still do nothing person. Don't get me wrong I LOVE a good sit down and have to work hard to be a mover in a sedentary culture with my sedentary disposition and love of books and tea and writing. But if I sit down indoors doing nothing I just end up feeling fidgety and in need of something to do with my hands or mind. I end up braiding my hair obsessively like a caged animal because... that's what I am in that moment. A primate removed from her natural environment and natural ways of being and suffering as a result. I used to think there was something 'wrong' with me because of this, that somehow I was damaged goods because I needed input and had this repetitive habit. This was heightened by the fact that I've lived with someone for 11 years who can sit still and gaze out of a window for an hour as an activity (??!). Oh the magic of us so often choosing our opposites for healing.
Then a few years ago I suddenly had the insight that being still indoors in silence is most likely incredibly unprecedented in terms of our ancestral past. I first had this insight when I noticed that I could 'just be' so much more easily outdoors than in and that when in company outdoors I rarely if ever feel the need to fidget or braid my hair...
This article continues over on my Patreon page: Wild Woman Club. Post link here.
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Carly x
