September rolled in reminding me of my childhood as inflammation rippled through my body like so many wildfires cross the landscape. It’s been a trial in limits, a tug of war between what I want and need to get done and a body that utterly refuses to budge. Chronic illness and MCAS flares in particular feel like climate collapse in miniature. A buildup up of toxins within the ecology, in my case a rather potent xenoestrogen mixture in a new laundry soap, cause a cascade of symptoms within my body’s environment. The landscape lights aflame, cytokine storms, dermatographia, deep bone, nerve, and muscle pain, brain fog, fatigue, weakness etc. It leaves you spent and just wanting it to end but a buildup of toxins just doesn’t go away. Much like the carbon emissions in our atmosphere, you stop polluting and you still have decades to go before the temperature stops rising. Weeks go by and the symptoms rise and fall, drop off completely, and pop back up again. A reminder of how sensitive our bodies are to our environment and how callous we can treat both.
Some things I’ve been thinking about this month include being present in the moment from practicing mindfulness while knitting scarves for this autumn season to being present in the body. Allowing my perception to turn inwards and listening to the raging storm of chronic illness, it’s ebb and its flow. I’ve also been thinking about fractals in nature and how they are similar to those found within the body. Everything replicates in ever increasing complexity and mirrors all other forms, from rivers and veins to the first cellular life in the form of a lipid bubble and our beautiful planet with it’s thin atmosphere enveloping us. All of life is complexity. All of life is ebb and flow and the thin balance between them.
‘These patterns aren’t just around us; they inform our bodies, too. We have wiggling meanders in our hair, brains, and intestines; branching patterns in capillaries, neurons, and lungs; explosive patterns in areolas, irises, and sneezes; spirals in ears, fingertips, DNA, and fists.’ – Jane Alison
Below you will find some beautiful pieces from SciArtSeptember that I particularly loved and that echo the connection between fractal, pattern, and the body.
Links:
Reads:
- ‘Ecological Reflections on Post-Capitalist Society’ Clint Jones
- ‘Toward a Transpersonal Ecology: Developing New Foundations for Environmentalism’ Warwick Fox
- A Dialogue with Arne Naess on Social Ecology and Deep Ecology (1988-1997) John P. Clark