“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” ~ Rachel Carson, A Sense Of Wonder
It is spring in the Northeast and I am emerging again. For me, a change of season is a potent time for release or renewal. In autumn, I reflect on what I need to compost and try to shed the weight of old stories just as trees let go of their leaves. Then in spring, after going inward in the dark of winter, I emerge like the tender growth of new leaves.
Last year, part of my autumn-composting included the release of internalized pressure to produce. While not an easy pressure to peel away from, I knew I needed a pause. I felt overwhelmed by online noise, by the onslaught of sociopolitical horrors and ecological injustice, and was at a crossroads in my work. So I pulled back from screens to be more present in the sensual world. I asked myself questions like: Which of my efforts are truly making a difference in my local and larger community of people, plants and wildlife? What is feeding me? What is depleting me? Less outward production led to more inner clarity and helped me focus what I came to realize was scattered energy.
My time and space away from the virtual world was incredibly full and much more physical. It led to a shedding of some old inner narratives, the creation of some new ones, and an integration of work and practices.
The desire to build local community, integrate my work and cultivate resilience in a curated setting led me to organize an in-person space that brings the holistic threads of my work together: Hex Boxing Club. HEX teaches boxing as both a healing practice and a disciplined craft, offering amateur and professional skills alongside embodied ecological practice.
Some of you know me as a writer and writing mentor, some know me as an herbalist, naturalist and nature advocate, and others as a boxer and boxing coach. Some of you have also told me there is dissonance in the combination of those practices; especially boxing. But to me, there is no dissonance at all.
Boxing is a moving meditation and rigorous method of focus when there is too much vying for our attention. It is a practice of animal embodiment. A way to work with primal instincts many of us have been taught to cage or tone down. Martial arts, like boxing, cultivate internal strength and situational awareness, and when we know how to fight we carry ourselves differently. As a woman in a patriarchal world, it feels essential to know how to fight.
We understand Eastern martial arts traditions like Kung Fu to be practices of self development, often blending creative arts and ecological awareness. While Western boxing is not generally seen or approached as a holistic practice of self development, it can be. The embodiment and heightened awareness I feel when training flows into my writing and art and ecological intimacy. As an athlete and earthling, I know my health and well‑being is inseparable from the health and well‑being of Earth. Nourishment through local herbalism, foraged foods and regenerative farms are part of it all. I’ve moved between writing, boxing, visual art and nature connection as work and practice throughout the years but it is the integration of all of them that provides me with the most balance.
There is a lot of back story here that I’ll be sharing with you in the coming weeks. And to be clear: this does not take away from writing and work on behalf of the outer wild. With greater mental and physical clarity, my hope is that it will enhance it.
I’ve been spending a lot of time and energy getting the space ready. I look forward to sharing more as the vision, community and journey unfold.
I hope the change of season is treating you well.
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