I actually can't wait to become compost! When I heard a podcast about composting human remains I cried it was so beautiful. As an avid gardener I love the symbology of feeding the garden that fed me for so long. I just hope that by the time I die it becomes more popular and is available here in Australia
We can at least do natural burials now in many parts of Australia (shallow, unmarked grave in a forested area and only wrapped in a shroud) - my wife and I have already reserved sites in Canberra.
It's not quite as good as composting - and I'd love to be buried in our own garden along with our two beloved old dogs - bit It's not a bad option.
Excellent reminder. I founded an environmental monitoring company in the early noughties that I had to let go. It was hard but now there are startups doing very similar things with biodiversity and I sincerely hope the time is right for them. Maybe we gave them some compost.
Brilliant post thank you for such thoughtful prompts - I’ve been reflecting on which aspects of my practice are ready for the compost and this post has really nudged on that thinking :)
Thank you for this. It is very much in line with my thinking, but I hadn’t connected the same dots quite the same way. You’ve added some food for thought.
“Sometimes, that role is to grow. Sometimes, it is to nourish. Both are vital.” I was dreaming for the embodiment of the Medicine in a dream for the community, that I had about a month ago, the other night, and the above quote was a strong theme within the dream.
This is beautifully said. I lead a mindfulness nonprofit that recently announced its closure (for a variety of reasons). While a very difficult decision, it was clear that conditions were no longer sufficient to sustain our flourishing. As we navigate this period of ending and release, I have desired to share the kind of ethos you so beautifully reflect here in this writing: That regeneration necessarily requires an embrace of letting go and transformation. And yes, we all support this if it's not our organization, our job, our movement, our creation. But when it is - it is painful. And I think even the pain has deep value. But in a culture that prioritizes comfort and ease above all else, we seem to have lost this innate understanding. Appreciation to you for revitalizing it.
This article narrates a story explored within science zfiction, as well as Eastern philosophy. Science fiction always leaves a lot of open-ended conclusions. Who gets to decide who or what is failure and when something should be compost. How much time are we allowed to show value to the ecosystem. What potential is there in human failure as well as those past their prime and our ability to regenerate individually or evolve. Eastern philosophy helps to not be married to any one outcome. Accept a narrative that we most likely or most of us don't understand but can sit and listen to best we can.
I love this. Thanks for sharing. I think it points to the need for deeper interconnection where the letting go and compost can not just be beneficial in our self-systems but also the wider context. I'm not sure we have many mental models that support the decomposition and nourishing failure within the context of community. I long for it.
The eccentric but charming old Australian historian, Manning Clark, once said something to the effect that every individual human life ends in failure, yet the species succeeds.
I really do like the energy of this post, but I am wondering about the IFS overlay; particularly with the course--what is the use of that framework in this context over an animist or indigenous one; as those always view the self as a dynamic unfolding with different parts? I am wondering why it's not seen as vital to engage with the rich wisdom of indigenous peoples as they have navigated these tensions for much longer than anyone in western culture has.
I don't understand the either-or polarity here. Why do we have to pit things against each other as though they are mutually exclusive, especially in arguing for a perspective that sees inter-connectedness?
You're right, I did not mean to imply a sense of either/or, and I apologize if my comment was received as combative. My sense is that we do have much more in common than we do different and share the goal of building bridges of connection and understanding around these vital topics of eco-psycology and climate psychology. Perhaps a better way to phrase the curiosity my post was motivated by would be, in your mind how do indigenous and animistic psychologies weave with the IFS framework, or perhaps in the climate psychology framework more broadly?
Dear Kezia, this is a very big question - too big for a post. But I have attempted to gesture towards this in t"Climate, Psychology and Change" he book that I edited last year. If you look at the link you will see that contributors come from Western psychotherapy and indigenous communities and we addressed this very question from different angles: https://www.climatepsychologyandchange.com/book
I actually can't wait to become compost! When I heard a podcast about composting human remains I cried it was so beautiful. As an avid gardener I love the symbology of feeding the garden that fed me for so long. I just hope that by the time I die it becomes more popular and is available here in Australia
Your words made me smile, 'feeding the garden that fed me' - beautiful!
We can at least do natural burials now in many parts of Australia (shallow, unmarked grave in a forested area and only wrapped in a shroud) - my wife and I have already reserved sites in Canberra.
It's not quite as good as composting - and I'd love to be buried in our own garden along with our two beloved old dogs - bit It's not a bad option.
Excellent reminder. I founded an environmental monitoring company in the early noughties that I had to let go. It was hard but now there are startups doing very similar things with biodiversity and I sincerely hope the time is right for them. Maybe we gave them some compost.
I love the graciousness in this message and I am sure that this must have been very hard.
The psychology of the climate crisis is every bit as important as any other pillar of it.
Brilliant post thank you for such thoughtful prompts - I’ve been reflecting on which aspects of my practice are ready for the compost and this post has really nudged on that thinking :)
What a meaningful and humbling reflection.
Thank you for this. It is very much in line with my thinking, but I hadn’t connected the same dots quite the same way. You’ve added some food for thought.
Such a brilliant piece, thank you 🙏
“Sometimes, that role is to grow. Sometimes, it is to nourish. Both are vital.” I was dreaming for the embodiment of the Medicine in a dream for the community, that I had about a month ago, the other night, and the above quote was a strong theme within the dream.
This is beautifully said. I lead a mindfulness nonprofit that recently announced its closure (for a variety of reasons). While a very difficult decision, it was clear that conditions were no longer sufficient to sustain our flourishing. As we navigate this period of ending and release, I have desired to share the kind of ethos you so beautifully reflect here in this writing: That regeneration necessarily requires an embrace of letting go and transformation. And yes, we all support this if it's not our organization, our job, our movement, our creation. But when it is - it is painful. And I think even the pain has deep value. But in a culture that prioritizes comfort and ease above all else, we seem to have lost this innate understanding. Appreciation to you for revitalizing it.
This is really powerful. We can learn so much from nature, including how to let go…
This article narrates a story explored within science zfiction, as well as Eastern philosophy. Science fiction always leaves a lot of open-ended conclusions. Who gets to decide who or what is failure and when something should be compost. How much time are we allowed to show value to the ecosystem. What potential is there in human failure as well as those past their prime and our ability to regenerate individually or evolve. Eastern philosophy helps to not be married to any one outcome. Accept a narrative that we most likely or most of us don't understand but can sit and listen to best we can.
I love this. Thanks for sharing. I think it points to the need for deeper interconnection where the letting go and compost can not just be beneficial in our self-systems but also the wider context. I'm not sure we have many mental models that support the decomposition and nourishing failure within the context of community. I long for it.
The eccentric but charming old Australian historian, Manning Clark, once said something to the effect that every individual human life ends in failure, yet the species succeeds.
Big, conflicting feelings and thoughts about this piece - so much so that I don’t think they can fit in a comment. I may come back later…
What a beautiful post. Thank you.
I really do like the energy of this post, but I am wondering about the IFS overlay; particularly with the course--what is the use of that framework in this context over an animist or indigenous one; as those always view the self as a dynamic unfolding with different parts? I am wondering why it's not seen as vital to engage with the rich wisdom of indigenous peoples as they have navigated these tensions for much longer than anyone in western culture has.
I don't understand the either-or polarity here. Why do we have to pit things against each other as though they are mutually exclusive, especially in arguing for a perspective that sees inter-connectedness?
You're right, I did not mean to imply a sense of either/or, and I apologize if my comment was received as combative. My sense is that we do have much more in common than we do different and share the goal of building bridges of connection and understanding around these vital topics of eco-psycology and climate psychology. Perhaps a better way to phrase the curiosity my post was motivated by would be, in your mind how do indigenous and animistic psychologies weave with the IFS framework, or perhaps in the climate psychology framework more broadly?
Dear Kezia, this is a very big question - too big for a post. But I have attempted to gesture towards this in t"Climate, Psychology and Change" he book that I edited last year. If you look at the link you will see that contributors come from Western psychotherapy and indigenous communities and we addressed this very question from different angles: https://www.climatepsychologyandchange.com/book