Dia dhuit,
Hello everyone! Keili here. Trying to learn Irish this week with my Dad and Sister, so wanted to share an Irish greeting with you :)
To be honest, it was hard to think of what to write for this post. Running around for the holidays, getting ready to start back up at school, and charging Disney with the fam last two days - I am pretty dead (it is sucha hard life).
So I thought, with a new year full of to-do’s, wish lists, manifestations and vision boards all lined up that it would be great to start an observation journal. I love journaling already, but often times I struggle finding a prompt / motivation on days were I just don’t feel super inspired to write about any specific emotion or event.
Why an observation journal? Well, isn’t the best way we can change the world for the better (or anything for that matter) by developing a relationship with it?
Since loosing my mom this last year, my connection with nature has felt more immediate and vibrant than ever. The way I connect with the natural world has become my way to continue my relationship with her, and ancestors before me.
Still, no one can do this 24/7 - no one is a perfect person…it is easy to forget we have these ties to our environment. With piling responsibilities, expectations, and reliance on one another - we get consumed with fear, anxiety, and can begin to loose trust.
“Guilt and anger and fear are part of the problem. If you want to save the world, save it because you love it!” —Gary Snyder
I love this quote by Gary Snyder, who is an amazing environmental advocate and poet, because it is so true! If there is anything we hope to save or hold on to we must foster that very reason we wish to do so! Do you love the sounds of the birds? Listen closer! Love the way the ocean smells? lean in! Want to know why the fish swim in the shallows? Watch them, follow them quietly and you could discover something marvelous!
It is because of these simple truths that I will aspire to absorb these secrets of the world more fully and remember them entirely. Since I have ADHD and the worst memory ever, the only way to do this is by writing them down.
Creating a list of observations is not an original thought by me (obviously). In fact, most navigators would do just that every hour (or more) for years. Through this, they would uncover patterns, sequences, and develop theories on what the world would do next. Among the observations scribed by voyagers were; wind, weather, clouds, temperature, tides, swell, animal behavior, the stars, sun and moon.
To be so in tune, so aware, of those elements must have been a great comfort. When I want to know the weather - or really any of those things….I check my app. How useless I would be without a phone!
A photo my sister captured of bait being scooped into a fishing boat and two egrets watching.
Anyway, I hope this inspired you to take time and observe things more fully (especially the things that bring you the most joy). Maybe write them down in a list, or in your head, or tell a friend, I would sure love to hear. Can be organized or sloppy, but try and be intentional. Then we can look back and see how different Jan 6th 2025 is from today and so on.
Have a great new year my dear friends!
-Keili
A big thank you to everyone who made my year bearable, who helped keep chugging along, I hope to pass on the kindness. Mahalo ‘Io, my family, all those before me, especially my mother Illa. Thank you for the signs.