Nurturing Life From the Roots Up
For the Wild is a mother-led social enterprise, a community and an invitation to explore the roots of dysfunction in our current sociocultural systems and how these may be healed, so we may move towards building sociocultural systems of care that nurture the health and well being of all Life on Earth.
We live in times of deep social and environmental crises, on an unsustainable course that is damaging to the health of people and our planet that sustains all Life.
The situation we find ourselves in is driven by primary sociocultural systems, centuries in the making, based upon dynamics of ‘power over’, domination, exploitation, oppression and materialism. These primary systems undermine Life and it’s capacity for healthy functioning both within and around us.
Because our current sociocultural systems are so long in the making we are often unaware exactly how they are affecting us individually and collectively. We also see them as ‘just the way things (and we) are‘ or as fixed and unchangeable; a simple reflection of human nature.
However, our current norm is absolutely not our only option, or potential, as a species.
Without fundamentally healing the sociocultural systems in which we are operating, our mental, emotional, physical and practical capabilities for healing ourselves, and the crises of our time, will continually be undermined.
The situation is intricately nuanced and complex.
The task is huge.
The call is urgent.
So, how may we shift onto a trajectory towards primary sociocultural systems that nurture the healthy functioning of Life; based on awareness, understanding, humility, appreciation, awe and wonder, learning, responsibility, mutually beneficial relationships and circles of care?
We don’t, of course, have all the answers yet. Part of our work at For the Wild is in extending an invitation to community, conversation and collaboration where we sincerely and playfully contemplate and share ideas and innovation, and join together for the sake of all Life.
We do have our own starting point also, based on three foundational ideas garnered through the life experience of our founder, Dr Shona Fernyhough MRCVS:
1 – Our current sociocultural norms undermine our health through causing a traumatic disconnect in our relationship with our authentic selves, our relationship with our Wild (biological) needs and belonging, and our relationship with Time. Healing these relationships will support our wider healing.
2 – Healing our relationship with our authentic selves, with our Wild needs and belonging and with Time can be supported through slow adventure, safe community and the power of moving, being and playing in the Wild.
3 – Key to healing our societies and culture is the healing of childhood through the deep value, centring, nurture and healing of our mothers, grandmothers and allomothers, and the support of their voices and action on behalf of all Life.