“If you think you are too small to make a difference,
you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.”
-African Proverb
We’re less than a week away from the next Forest Cycle, and it occurred to me that our first Forest School Cycle began right after myself, Tribal Marks, Passion Barre and all the brands and pop up experiences went through a “re vision.” At the core of that “re vision” was a reclamation of hope and a sense of wonder. It led us to share some freebies (printable and phone wallpapers) with our email tribe (audience) – which, you should totally sign up here and get those, if you haven’t yet.
My favorite of these printables has been this African proverb quote that speaks so much to the philosophy behind our lifestyle and what we thrive on during our Barre in the Wild, and Charlotte Mason inspired Forest Cycle experiences.
Charlotte Mason has a quote, “I am, I ought, I can, I will” which has been famously circulated with a little switch to “I am, I can, I ought, I will”. You may want to learn more about the fire behind that quote that reaches past St, Augustine’s thoughts all the way through human history’s inception.
I grew up singing that quote as a part of my primary (elementary) school’s anthem in a country that was all too familiar with mosquitos – particularly, the female Anopheles mosquito and it’s potentially Malaria inducing bite. But on the other hand, there’s the amusement of the all night Kung-fu fight that could ensue with the tiny thing, making it a worthy opponent. Have you watched Rowan Atkinson’s “Man vs Bee?” Yes, of that kind.
But here I am, alive and well by the grace of God with a passionate hatred for the insect yet with a forest school girl’s sense of wonder to get in the wild, doused in natural herbology to repel the thing and dive into it’s anatomy and life cycle. Ready to wild craft the plants that contribute to said herbology, and giggle with glee if we could catch one and look at it up close… before I deliver it a striking blow. Sorry, how unnaturesque of me. My friends have humorously pointed out my perpetrating ways. But I reserve that treatment only for the mosquito and what it’s ancestors did to me.
Moving on from my ode to the Anopheles, little did I know that my school anthem at the time came from Charlotte Mason’s herald. Nor did I know how deeply I would want myself, my family and the world to be richly impacted by the awe of God through the wonder of nature. Little did I know that I would refuse for us to forget all His benefits and that He is our Teacher. And that in that setting I would help broaden minds with invitations to the riches of world cultures, and become a keeper of wild hymns and curator of poetry tea time (with the most delightful craft tea that the kids so love).
Who knew then that memory verses, risk-taking, resilience practice, physical/emotional intelligence, STEM, art, geography and language arts could unfold unhinged in the wild? That we would make zip-lines because we learned about knot-tying and simple machines and ancient transportation systems in a living book story from far-away ancient lands. And that all the explorations would tie in to the story’s context. Or – take on a life of it’s own because the children got drawn into some other amazing thing.
I say all this to say I get to plan all the things but remain in awe of all that keeps unfolding. That Charlotte Mason’s quote and other quotes about nature studies remains revolutionary.
Our kids need it. We grown ups need it. We see how they constantly transform before our eyes when they do. How they fall in love with learning – and how this will honor their God-given mind, build resilience, and protect their natural wiring to be life-long learners.
I’m grateful to have the privilege of serving our community in this way in this season and I’m downright humbled.
So sign up here to download the inspirational tryptich that inspired my rant, and you can use them as a phone wallpaper AND/OR printable wall art.
Here’s what each of the three designs look like:
The mind shifting statements on this tryptich have resonated strongly over the years within our tribe as I’ve shared them during my speaking engagements, podcast; or during cool downs after a Passion Barre, Santu Stretch or Karingah session.
Along with the trendy, delightfully vibrant and versatile Ankara print and watercolor patterns, I hope these pieces speak to you in all the ways I designed them to:
To reawaken hope, and your sense of wonder
To help shift you into your uplifted, resourceful and resilient state.
To help you share stories of your identity, hope and culture in your homeschool.
I’ll keep exploring the patterns and practices that inspire and awaken hope and resilience in us; and I hope you’ll join us for our next Forest Cycle or Barre in The Wild pop up.
For those local to us with young children, we’re a week away from our Fall Forest Cycle, and Five Weeks of Wonder await you.
If you haven’t signed up yet, learn more about what to expect from our exhilarating Forest experience here and click on the sign me up button to fill out the registration form.
I’m happy to answer questions on this cycle. Comment and ask away.
Get your hopes up.
And remember-
Your uplifted, purposeful, resilient and resourceful state is everything, and I am obsessed with helping you learn how to sustain and flourish in it.
Tune in to my Think Again & Be Podcast to get something incredible for your heart. The latest episode, “Changing the Way WE Think & Speak About Mental Health, with Mercy Lokulutu, Psychiatric NP” has been helping set people free!
Wearing in Photo:
