I enjoyed this post and it really resonates with how I have lived my life since my husband died nearly 10 months ago.
My replenishment is to step out of every day life and live as simply as I can, walking in nature, singing to the waters and creating “Earth Art” - something heavily based on nature - maybe dyeing some fabric with plants and stitching an honouring to them or weaving some grasses etc.
I am very sorry to hear about your husband's passing and thank you for sharing your deep wisdom here. It resonates deeply with me as the way I (too) would navigate that thread of fate, one day at a time, I believe. I have not lived this, but I sometimes feel into it, as life can change overnight.
I replenish by resting, alone time, going within, treating myself to a thing or an activity that lights me up, make art, write, meet with a close friend for a walk and a good conversation, tune into something qualitative and preferably spiritual (blog, book, podcast). I am deeply aware of the my needs, after having completely depleted myself during the first three decades of my life. Now I make sure to replenish my well as frequently as I can. I am much happier and healthier because of this.
Thank you - I really enjoyed reading that, from my distinctly urban surroundings in South London. I’m lucky to live with someone who really ought to be the (green) witch in the family (but refuses to admit) and there are consequently reminders of the green earth everywhere I look. But when my personal well really runs dry, there’s a piano - so far, music has proved a blessedly bottomless well…
Hi Gabriel, thank you for your poetic reply! I divide my time between Sweden and South East London (and also I spend significant amounts of time in the US and other locations for work) so can picture what you describe! Very interesting about the "green witch" externalising something that is kept under a lid internally. Human beings are mysterious creatures! : )
Imelda thank you for this post that suddenly gave me a new insight to my earlier writing meditation tonight . When i saw the round cover over the water I directly realized what was under my Cover in my writing - of course it was a well - haha - I needed to write your story to realize this - how amazing ...what a good story you gave us to continue in our own way - connected to your - thank you so much and good night looking forward to meeting you in my dreams and sure IRL. Buona sera Signora.
My pleasure to be "of service"! The round cover over water indeed. May your inner well (in terms of of what goes out and what comes in) be exquisitely balanced!
Beautiful! Wells… a subject dear to my heart. The 10 acres of healing clear cut forest where I lived for 30 years until 3 years ago, on an island (10 miles x 3 or 4 miles) wrapped around a 12 acre wetland, that was part of a large system of surface water made of swamps, streams (two salmon bearing) and two small lakes (one wide and shallow and the other, narrow and deep). A seasonal creek carried water from the wetland down to the narrow deep lake below. The water there felt holy. The land felt like the space or the bowl of the wetland. It was tender land where we healed together. Two shallow wells were dug and later one was Re-dug and done properly with concrete well rings and a third well was dug by a local
farmer (who had a heart attack while operating his excavator). Each well had its own unique qualities and reliability. Two were at the front of the property near the larger cabin. They would usually dry out by late September. The one at the back cabin never dried up. I won’t go into details about how each one was pumped.
Now I live in the mountains surrounding a vast long fjord-like lake, with streams all over. Ironically there is no surface water near the small steep acreage I live on. Three years ago, by divine fluke, in a month sacred to thé Hindus, and a day sacred to a divine feminine deity connected to shale and water, the drillers finally found a productive vein of water down nearly 400 feet. Now I am uncomfortably aware of how dependent I am on modern technology. A high powered pump. I had two very large cisterns buried uphill so that in a no power pinch there would be gravity flow water for a couple of months with careful use. I am dreaming of a good little solar array set up to power the pump eventually. This all makes me aware that my life is a strange hybrid now, of needing to be tech able, while finding time and bandwidth to go deeper into work of the soul. Parts of me crave the awkward simplicity of living completely off grid again, and parts celebrate being drawn into unevenness of living in these mountains.
Thank you for sharing your "lived experience" with bodies of water and wells in different locations. I think all water is Holy or Sacred because all life on Earth depends on it. I also hear you about the dependence on technology and well done for working hard to be "tech able"! And I love the word "unevenness" in this context: ebb and flow, fat years and lean years, seasons, contraction and expansion. They all enrich my life, even if they are not always comfortable to experience...
Thank you once again Imelda for another beautiful and thoughtful essay. Currently and for most of my life I’ve lived with a well. Concern about the well pump breaking or the well running dry always lives in the back of my mind. This is unlikely though because I live in a place of underground aquifers, high water tables and inland wetlands including a lovely pond. “Frigg’s hall is Fensalir or Hall of the Marshlands” is an entirely new mythic image/place to me which I will now endeavor to explore and work with. Thank you for showing it to me. Also thank you for sharing your “well refilling” practices. I think today may be a day for me to take my drum to the woods and pond and drum up some fresh clean water for my own (spiritual) well. Many blessings as you travel and teach in the coming weeks.
Hi Jan! I hope that you did take your drum to the woods and pond. Your beautiful description gives me a visual image of "the heartbeat of water" - something I need to explore! Wild blessings back to you!
Well, it makes you realise how hard previous generations worked just to provide everyday needs while we take our modern conveniences for granted. I replenish myself with time alone, silence, poetry, inspiring books and Substack articles, podcasts, art and speaking to friends. I also love tarot and oracle cards.
I enjoyed this post and it really resonates with how I have lived my life since my husband died nearly 10 months ago.
My replenishment is to step out of every day life and live as simply as I can, walking in nature, singing to the waters and creating “Earth Art” - something heavily based on nature - maybe dyeing some fabric with plants and stitching an honouring to them or weaving some grasses etc.
I also dive Deep into the metaphorical well.
I am very sorry to hear about your husband's passing and thank you for sharing your deep wisdom here. It resonates deeply with me as the way I (too) would navigate that thread of fate, one day at a time, I believe. I have not lived this, but I sometimes feel into it, as life can change overnight.
I replenish by resting, alone time, going within, treating myself to a thing or an activity that lights me up, make art, write, meet with a close friend for a walk and a good conversation, tune into something qualitative and preferably spiritual (blog, book, podcast). I am deeply aware of the my needs, after having completely depleted myself during the first three decades of my life. Now I make sure to replenish my well as frequently as I can. I am much happier and healthier because of this.
Happier and healthier - exactly! Good to hear you got a great handle on this. It took me decades as well, to arrive there....
Thank you - I really enjoyed reading that, from my distinctly urban surroundings in South London. I’m lucky to live with someone who really ought to be the (green) witch in the family (but refuses to admit) and there are consequently reminders of the green earth everywhere I look. But when my personal well really runs dry, there’s a piano - so far, music has proved a blessedly bottomless well…
Hi Gabriel, thank you for your poetic reply! I divide my time between Sweden and South East London (and also I spend significant amounts of time in the US and other locations for work) so can picture what you describe! Very interesting about the "green witch" externalising something that is kept under a lid internally. Human beings are mysterious creatures! : )
Imelda thank you for this post that suddenly gave me a new insight to my earlier writing meditation tonight . When i saw the round cover over the water I directly realized what was under my Cover in my writing - of course it was a well - haha - I needed to write your story to realize this - how amazing ...what a good story you gave us to continue in our own way - connected to your - thank you so much and good night looking forward to meeting you in my dreams and sure IRL. Buona sera Signora.
My pleasure to be "of service"! The round cover over water indeed. May your inner well (in terms of of what goes out and what comes in) be exquisitely balanced!
Beautiful! Wells… a subject dear to my heart. The 10 acres of healing clear cut forest where I lived for 30 years until 3 years ago, on an island (10 miles x 3 or 4 miles) wrapped around a 12 acre wetland, that was part of a large system of surface water made of swamps, streams (two salmon bearing) and two small lakes (one wide and shallow and the other, narrow and deep). A seasonal creek carried water from the wetland down to the narrow deep lake below. The water there felt holy. The land felt like the space or the bowl of the wetland. It was tender land where we healed together. Two shallow wells were dug and later one was Re-dug and done properly with concrete well rings and a third well was dug by a local
farmer (who had a heart attack while operating his excavator). Each well had its own unique qualities and reliability. Two were at the front of the property near the larger cabin. They would usually dry out by late September. The one at the back cabin never dried up. I won’t go into details about how each one was pumped.
Now I live in the mountains surrounding a vast long fjord-like lake, with streams all over. Ironically there is no surface water near the small steep acreage I live on. Three years ago, by divine fluke, in a month sacred to thé Hindus, and a day sacred to a divine feminine deity connected to shale and water, the drillers finally found a productive vein of water down nearly 400 feet. Now I am uncomfortably aware of how dependent I am on modern technology. A high powered pump. I had two very large cisterns buried uphill so that in a no power pinch there would be gravity flow water for a couple of months with careful use. I am dreaming of a good little solar array set up to power the pump eventually. This all makes me aware that my life is a strange hybrid now, of needing to be tech able, while finding time and bandwidth to go deeper into work of the soul. Parts of me crave the awkward simplicity of living completely off grid again, and parts celebrate being drawn into unevenness of living in these mountains.
Thank you for sharing your "lived experience" with bodies of water and wells in different locations. I think all water is Holy or Sacred because all life on Earth depends on it. I also hear you about the dependence on technology and well done for working hard to be "tech able"! And I love the word "unevenness" in this context: ebb and flow, fat years and lean years, seasons, contraction and expansion. They all enrich my life, even if they are not always comfortable to experience...
Thank you once again Imelda for another beautiful and thoughtful essay. Currently and for most of my life I’ve lived with a well. Concern about the well pump breaking or the well running dry always lives in the back of my mind. This is unlikely though because I live in a place of underground aquifers, high water tables and inland wetlands including a lovely pond. “Frigg’s hall is Fensalir or Hall of the Marshlands” is an entirely new mythic image/place to me which I will now endeavor to explore and work with. Thank you for showing it to me. Also thank you for sharing your “well refilling” practices. I think today may be a day for me to take my drum to the woods and pond and drum up some fresh clean water for my own (spiritual) well. Many blessings as you travel and teach in the coming weeks.
Hi Jan! I hope that you did take your drum to the woods and pond. Your beautiful description gives me a visual image of "the heartbeat of water" - something I need to explore! Wild blessings back to you!
Well, it makes you realise how hard previous generations worked just to provide everyday needs while we take our modern conveniences for granted. I replenish myself with time alone, silence, poetry, inspiring books and Substack articles, podcasts, art and speaking to friends. I also love tarot and oracle cards.
So true! And so important to know what truly "tops us up"!