5 Things I learned editing the Spring issue of JUNO…
All of a sudden, I’m reading books and having conversations with people about the power of working with our cycles rather than against them. I was so inspired by the chapters on cycles in Kate Northrup’s book Do Less that I interviewed her about it for My Life My Way. It really makes sense; if we work with the energy we have, we can be more productive. And, as reminded by Fiona and Karen in the Sensory Herbalism column, “rest is as important as productivity”, so we need to welcome our bleeding time as a reminder to rest and regenerate.
To get outdoors!
I am writing this after spending five minutes sitting on the doorstep of the JUNO office in the sunshine eating my lunch. That wasn’t much time and my head was working away on this feature, but even just those few minutes outside, enjoying the sun on my face (a rare treat!), listening to the birds, feeling the fresh air, helped me relax. In this issue, Holly Ebony and Cath German both write about the importance and healing power of time outside, and it’s on my ‘to-do’ list to try to take those few minutes whenever I can.
To remove obstacles to cure
I love the reflective nature of Lizzie Mae Smith’s homeopathy column. Reading it, I was struck by the notion that I need to find more time to be physically active and to get outside. This has been my focus and I’m hoping it will get easier with the longer hours of daylight. Let us know on social media if Lizzie’s column inspired you to reflect on changes you could make to help your wellbeing.
Why what nappies are made of is as important as their disposal
I am ashamed to say that I’d never focussed before on the ‘waste’ involved in what nappies are made of; my focus had always been on the landfill at the end. Reading Laura Davies’ article was a lightbulb moment: “the manufacture of single-use nappies actually has a greater environmental impact than the waste management of them.” Laura writes about the water, crude oil and wood pulp needed to make disposable nappies and this resonates with what Natalie Fee says in her book How to Save the World for Free: “We’re using a material which lasts forever, to make things we’ll use for only a few seconds”. Yes, we use nappies for hours not seconds, but it’s still not long in terms of the resources that are then gone. I love it when I’m working on an issue and things suddenly click. And what I’m seeing more and more clearly now is how important it is that we think about what things are made of just as much as how we dispose of them. If we are using something for a short time and then throwing it away, can we think about using a reusable option instead?
The importance of kindness and understanding
I read a lot of children’s books and I find them hugely inspiring. This issue I review Sarah Hagger-Holt’s book Nothing Ever Happens Here. Big themes run through the book, but something that comes across very strongly is the need for kindness in learning to understand other people. There is an incredibly powerful conversation between the main character, Izzy, and her best friend’s mum, Mrs Okafor. Izzy is worried that Dee (her father who is transitioning) is considered “an abomination” at the church the family attends, but Mrs Okafor reassures her saying: “There’s enough trouble in this world already. That’s why I think it’s no one’s business to pass judgement on someone else, whoever they are.” This book has inspired me to remember that.
This feature was originally published in JUNO Spring 2020.
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