Hello , My fellow brave human

The world has changed. We can see and hear horrendous things on our screens - and it is likely that everything we depend on and consume is changing. Fuel, food, convenience.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of the ‘what might be’, give yourself the space to feel into hope and possibility rather than fear of loss. That is something you do have control over and can make all the difference.

In this email I write about

• A revelation I had in the run-up to my marathon.
• A thank you to all of you for your support.
• An ask from one of our Brave Collective members - a homeopath who is designing workshops focusing on foraging and plant medicine,
• The latest episode of Brave Conversations - with Marie-Amelie Viatte of Sowing Our Horizons, about her model to support the food eco-system.

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Marathon Reflections

A week before the marathon, I realised I had been putting myself under huge pressure to finish in a good time. Why? I have no idea. In fact, my coach Laura, simply said there are three things you need to do a) start it, b) finish it c) don’t get injured. Stop worrying about how fast you’ll do it in.

I realised, for me speed has been the equivalent of achievement and efficiency, even if it meant burning out. I then realised that I have been in every sense, Aesop’s Hare.

And it hit me. It was time to reframe everything. Who cared how long I took to complete this (other than my ego)? It was time to discard my hare and become the tortoise. 

We carry everything we need. Our own endurance, our ability to carry on, our energy. I had been haring around in my training runs - overdoing it and trying to go as fast as possible, to try and prove to myself that I could. I didn’t know any other way. And it was beginning to hurt.

And when I stepped back I realised the world is doing the same thing. 

Everything is so fast moving, haring around, chaos, knee-jerk reactions and sitting on the verge of inevitable burn out. This is when it is the most important to be the tortoise. Plodding. Because when chaos happens, that is when we are needed most. 

So, to get through these next few months or even years - whatever they may bring. What can you do to be the tortoise?

And by the way, I love hares. I always have done. I find them magical and alluring. But they have bursts of energy and would burn out if they didn’t stop (I recognise this more than most). They are reactive to everything in real time. Fast.

In my office are two prints - one of a hare and one of a greyhound. They are both so beautiful and elegant. I think it is time for me to find my perfect tortoise picture for the wall.

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Thank you!

We managed the marathon in 9 hours (7.5 hours of running, the others resting and avoiding peat bogs). Thank you to everyone who supported me in every way possible - the final target reached was £2,050 and with Gift Aid that is just over £2,500 for Down’s Syndrome Scotland to continue to do the wonderful things it does for the Down’s Syndrome community. And additional special thank you’s to Katia, my co-runner, David and Jenny who were there to meet us at the end complete with care packages, and Lizzie whose hot bath I was able to use on the way home.

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Are you interested in finding out more about the plants around you?

Our Brave Collective member, Roz Pollack is a homeopath, with an interest in the power of plants and has just been published in the ANP Magazine for an article on Wild Herbs and Homeopathy.

She is developing a series of workshops and is keen to find out what the interest is out there. If you’re interested would you be able to respond to a quick survey to help her design her next workshop. It’ll take 2 minutes.

Take the Survey

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Given everything happening with the Strait of Hormuz right now, the timing of this episode feels important. We talk about food as well as challenging the status quo.

Before you listen, can I give you a few ‘did you know’ facts?

• The UK imports 82% of its fruit.
• Vegetable self-sufficiency is at its lowest since 1988.
• We were 80% food self-sufficient in the 1980s.
• We are now at 60%.

And urban communities are the most exposed of all.

Marie-Amélie has spent her career watching food show up as a problem — in environmental work, in health inequality, in community resilience. And then she started seeing it as the solution.

What she’s building with Sowing Our Horizons in Edinburgh is small, practical, and exactly the kind of thing the world needs more of.

We discuss the situation, the solution and the benefits of going off-piste! Have a listen and subscribe to these on Spotify or Apple Music

Listen Here

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Kirsty x