‘The Peace of Wild Things’ - by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

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The myths that bind us. The podcast is back after a month off with E08 - Human Nature. Tune in for musings on mythology, psychology, and a conversation about mental health, mindfulness and music with rapper and musician, Dizraeli.

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After exploring the myths behind the month of May in part 1, Tiger Lily is in conversation with Rowan Sawday, the rapper and musician known as Dizraeli. We talk parenthood, mental health, mindfulness and music, as Rowan tells us about his creative process, becoming a father and an emotional resilience trainer since the start of the pandemic.

You can find out more and enrol on Dizraeli’s next 6-week Tough Cookie Mixed Mental Arts course, which starts on June 21st, follow him on social media and find more music and links to his radio shows all from his website. We play the track ‘Beiko Mliba (A Time Is Coming)’ by Tongue Fu ft. Dizraeli & K.O.G., with lyrics written by Dizraeli and Kewku Sackey and music by Riaan Vosloo, Arthur Lea, Patrick Davey, Chris Redmond, Dizraeli & Kweku Sackey.

A lot can happen in a day, a week, a month, let alone a year. As we approach another summer in a world that may be unrecognisable in many ways, it might seem hard to see the path ahead. But it goes on, as sure as the buds bloom and the young leaves dance on the wind once again.

Sometimes, some things need tearing down, to make space for new stories, new seeds to grow. And it can be scary, when old structures collapse and walls fall down. It can be loud and violent.. but so can silence.

Fear and love are not so far from one another. ‘The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference’, and we don’t love or fear what we’re indifferent to. Fear and the many forms of anxiety it might cause, is part of our evolutionary existence, and the threats we face will continue to evolve, but so will we. And the more of us there are, the more complex our lives become, the more cooperation we will need to survive.

It can be hard not to focus on the problem, but it is perhaps comforting to know that this is a habit which can keep us alive. So, if the threat is existential, why not use the fear to find a solution, a new direction, a better understanding of ourselves, our environment, and each other.

And then remember to come back into the world, to the here and now, and use the space, the inspiration, the understanding to make it a better place to be, or simply to find more ease and joy in just being in it.

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