“The future is not an empty space but, like the past, it is an active aspect of the present” Professor Ivana Milojevic
My spirit has finally landed, to join my body in new lands.
I notice it’s not quite the same version of me that left, or that’s becoming. Something new is emerging within and around me.
This version was already there, but I’ve stepped into the conditions for it to appear.
Awakening possibility
I’m reminded of the quantum perspective on potentiality (of which I know very little, and probably have even the name wrong!).
My limited understanding is that everything is possible, until the moment something becomes reality. At that moment, other potentials fall away.
And what becomes real is only so through interactions.
In Carlo Rovelli’s beautiful book Helgoland, he describes how “To understand nature, we must focus on…interactions rather than on isolated objects”
Our interactions change us (and others).
I’ve written before about how the people we surround ourselves with changes who we are and become.
I’m noticing now that context also shapes this becoming.
I think of people and place as magnets for potential.
On an ‘etch-a-sketch’ of possibility, the magnets of people and place pull iron-shavings from the whole of our potential, to form a picture of the present ‘me’.
A future me, emerging in a new place
In this place - our new home in the Netherlands, I swim in brown water every morning, I take our kids for regular strolls to enjoy being outside. I collect grasses for decoration, and create from foraged plants. I’ve planted seeds and created a no dig bed.
I am feeling grounded and at ease, even while I sit at my desk, working with far away clients.
(I remember that one of my words for the year was ease, but it felt out of my grasp until now).
In relation to this place, I am different. A different type of potential is being awakened.
One of my favourite novels is Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I underlined SO many gems. I remember the protagonists moving through Shinto gates in Japan - each gate an indication of leaving one space and passing into another.
‘Life was always arriving. There was always another gate to pass through’
Perhaps we can, in some way, choose the gates we pass through, to shape the future we arrive in.
I feel like we’ve chosen the gate to a very different world from my urban, global norm. Let’s see what emerges.
If you’d like to see some pictures, we’re following our journey through this new, nourishing gate on Instagram (@HerinckHaven). We’re hoping to build a regenerative haven for soil and soul… a place where we can arrive and become.
Next small thing
The future is here, in its potential, as an active aspect of the present.
What small things can we do to shape the future us? What context can you change to play with the future that emerges?
Ask a question in different places: If you’re grappling with something, ask yourself the same question in different locations. What different perspectives and feelings do you get when you reflect under a tree vs next to water?
Date night: sounds trite, but going to a different place - with anyone, parents as much as lovers - often leads to different conversations
Walk with someone: There’s something special about feet falling into rhythm, being in a changing environment and not looking at each other that allows us to relate differently, on a walk
Family meal outside: Try eating on the grass, or pack up a sandwich for a walk and picnic in a pocket of green
What else?
Glad to hear you are finding your feet amongst the daisies, Emma.
So beautiful and insightful on life and transition and connection and place. So glad to hear you are finally finding grounding in your today’s home. Thanks for sharing, Emma.