Wild Ground

02/17/2024

My mama gave birth to me on Valentine's Day 1987. Every birthday, I imagine her breathing and pushing....with a mighty faith in her body to bring me into this world. What fierce love. What optimism for my life. 

Being born on a commercial day of love usually makes me search for deeper meaning on this ancient theme each year. In years past, I have steeped myself in the words of poets and authors like bell hooks Bell Hooks and , songs of musicians like and speeches of movement leaders , Rev. William Barber II, to pinpoint what Love will have me do in these times. This year, it's been Valerie Kaur.

With the genocide happening in Palestine, Sudan and Congo, war in Ukraine and the unraveling of oppression in the US, I honestly just felt depressed with grief and rage on my birthday sooooo tried to lean back in the comfort of Valerie Kaur's heart opening Sikh prayer for Revolutionary Love. 

She asks "What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?

What if our America is not dead but a country still waiting to be born? What if the story of America is one long labor?

Valerie reminds us to call on the wisdom of the midwife to breath and push and fight for the soul of America — “The land that never has been yet— And yet must be” (Langston Hughes) — with Revolutionary Love and relentless optimism. 

When I first heard Valerie speak this prayer, I sobbed with relief. Her faith and imagination cracked me open:

"Because if we don't push we will die. If we don't push our nation will die. Tonight we will breathe. Tomorrow we will labor in love through love and your revolutionary love is the magic we will show our children." - Valerie Kaur,

This is this Valentine's baby's prayer, too. 

Free Palestine 🇵🇸 so the world may be free.

I love you

Link in bio on Excel sheet of Palestinian families to support. Even adding a dollar to each one or several is tremendous.

🇵🇸

02/11/2024

In solidarity with the Gaza Sunbirds, a beautiful group of cyclists rallied & rode through Durham, NC this Saturday to uplift this incredible organization and FEEL the power of resistance together.

The are building a professional para-cycling team in the Gaza Strip to pave the way for amputees in Gaza and around the world to rise above through determination and excellence in sport. They invite us on this journey with them, until the day they proudly raise the Palestinian flag on the world stage.

Our beloved led us in song with "We shall not be moved" and prompted us to do at least one thing this week that is a stretch for our comfort level to act in solidarity with Palestine.

Letters were also written to Representative to call for a 🇵🇸.

Deep bow to all efforts to end this genocide.
"There is no price for hope. There is no price for freedom. We are the Gaza Sunbirds, and this is our flight!"

🇵🇸

01/28/2024

International Holocaust Day of Remembrance in Raleigh, NC with .

A day of song, prayer, and presence amongst diverse lineages of oppressed, resilient peoples.

A day of fierce demands for the end of all genocides.

This was a deeply humbling experience that cracked my heart open and aching for peace.

12/11/2023

08/23/2022

hey beauties,

in some sense I've been away from wild ground for a while, taking a deep dive into my own inner world of reckoning with what it is to be alive in this moment. walking with my bare feet on the ground and finding a way to say yes to it all, again and again.

yes, I'll take it, even if my heart sometimes wants to rip right out of my chest.
yes, I'm here for it, even if it's always changing.
yes it hurts. yes it's beautiful. yes I will wake up and love the world all over again.
yes.

in another sense I've not been away from wild ground but been more fully in it, tending to myself so that I will be able to show up for you in whatever work we do together. here I am. I'm ready.

I love you so 💗

Lindsey Jayne

08/12/2022

Join me in Chapel Hill for the last of this Restorative Hot Stones summer series at the Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute. It's a deep honor to host this space of rest. If your body is requesting ease and calm, listen & join us!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/restorative-yoga-hot-stones-at-the-eco-institute-at-pickards-mountain-tickets-362771026907

06/06/2022

What are some things I expect to happen at Rest Play Connect in Costa Rica this year?

- I expect that there will be mornings of walking on the beach. I expect that your lungs will feel looser and your smile will surprise you.

- I expect there will be times that we stand together looking at the ocean saying what the f**k is this life and belly laughing together

- I expect to be surprised by the way that we fuse like a family, temporary and tender; I expect that we all will fall in love

- I expect that I'll be astounded at the hearts that travel with us--all that they have held and all that they hold and all the magic they can't help but manifest.

Rest Play Connect is January 1-8, 2023. Link in the comments with more details. Y'all come on

05/05/2022

y'all, it's almost 2AM in Alabama and somehow I'm wide awake, dreaming about returning to Costa Rica in January for a retreat again next year.

This past weekend I got to retreat on the Cahaba River with dear friends and new friends. I remembered how I love to gather with people with purpose and play. I remembered how sacred and special it is to float down a river or make a drawing or share poems with people while you drink flavored whisky and sit around a fire.

Maybe it's because the news feels overwhelming or because summer is coming on or because the fogginess of grief is giving way to persistent reminders that life is brutal for sure and only as sweet as we can make it in the moments in between.

Let me know if you're considering joining me this January in Costa Rica. It sure would be dreamy to see you there. ❤

The past few years have been intense for us--is that true for you, too? We've encountered death and divorce and other major life events, all against the backdrop of the global pandemic. We are tired....

08/10/2021

Did the world feel more steady for a minute there? Like there was a moment where the ground felt firm enough for me to spring board into an adventure.

And somehow then it got all shifty again, rolling under my feet so that just trying to stay still felt like enough.

And, yet... I still want to reach for that little adventure. A week of new places and sounds and challenges, some time to be safe and away from home.

If you're still feeling some call to move in the world, think about coming to Costa Rica with me in January. We'll hold hands and take the leap together.

http://www.wildgroundalabama.org/rest-play-connect-costa-rica.html