for this year’s creativity and wellbeing week, misery was asked to invite community members to an open conversation around mental health and nature. we were an intimate group and started off with a body scan to ease into our digital group dynamic with a greater awareness of our bodies and a collective release of tension. when we slowly emerged from our meditative states, we began by sharing our personal memorable moments in nature. these ranged throughout the elements and in various places throughout the UK, and all shared a feeling of calm. i asked about the ways that the outdoors feels inaccessible to us, to better understand how to have more of these memorable moments outside without too much trouble. there was a shared sentiment that it can be difficult to travel to desired places in nature (to the sea, to the woods) without a vehicle. it can feel like a lot of planning, time, and money that goes into one outing, to get a breath of fresh air or feel a salty mist. this is a problem especially when living under conditions of capitalism that shrinks our spare time and makes it difficult to spend money on things outside of basic needs. events outdoors need to be fully funded and free to attend, and to go further, should try to cover travel costs for those who can’t afford it. then two separate points arose, related to each other but completely different: 1. it can feel unsafe to be outdoors alone & 2. it can feel anxiety inducing to be outdoors in a group. to address point 1 would be to attempt ameliorating the structural oppressions that cause people, particularly queer + trans people of colour, to feel unsafe. to start though, we can advocate for more events and activities in nature, funded and designed for people to simply show up to and feel safe at. feeling safe outdoors can simply look like being accounted for and feeling free of judgement on every basis, but also feeling supported in being ourselves, and that leads to point 2. some people want to feel safe outdoors while not feeling like having to socialize. one of the joys of being outside can be the quiet, the unparalleled peace that comes from pure birdsong and breeze. that, and some people just don’t want to chat while they’re spending time with nature – i feel that deeply. i wonder what it could feel like to apply community safety measures to an event outdoors that encourages independent exploration. just because people don’t always want to socialize doesn’t mean they don’t want to feel held by community. i felt a rush of excitement reimagining outdoor events and activities, feeling inspired by our little group and their experiences and wishes. the session was concluded with a free draw based on our dreams, where we could be if we could instantly transport to a landscape, as surreal or real as we wished. we listened to Nailah Hunter’s album, Spells, and quietly drew as we all departed in our own time.
misery is currently running misery medicine: plant magic, a one-year, in-person, immersive herb, mushroom & plant medicine program that will see Black people & people of colour learning about the herbs that grow wild all around us, making plant medicines for mental health, witnessing how herbs interact with the seasons & discussing how to decolonise ideas around medicine & sustainability. misery medicine happens every first saturday of the month until march 2023, sign up to misery’s newsletter to register (free/pay what you can).
Written by Soha at misery.
