We hope you have emerged from August rested, well-fed and tanned!
There is A LOT happening in the world right now and we advise that you try to strike a balance between consuming media to stay informed and ensuring you are taking regular breaks to not let your overworked nervous systems and hearts get too taxed and overloaded. It is also again important to count your blessings and practice gratitude. If you are housed, fed, clothed and employed, you’re doing OK. And if you have the means, try to support others in the plethora of crises happening both in our own backyards and globally.
We have lovingly packed this month’s package with techniques for nervous system regulation that are specifically suited for our current world events, Indigenous culture activities available in our own backyard of Lkwungen Territories, a thought-provoking selection of short films and soundtracks and seasonally-relevant food resources for yourself and those in-need.
And for everyone, students, teachers, faculty and auxiliary staff that are all headed back to start the 2021 school year, we are wishing you a safe re-entry into another year of education during a global pandemic. We are sending you strength, courage, fortitude and hopefully a lack of anti-mask, anti-vaxx rhetoric. Trying to teach, learn and facilitate with the impending risk of COVID-19 is stressful enough :/
May be be able to ride the continuing waves of this strange, chaotic world. Support your neighbours, engage in mutual aid if you are able and most importantly, take good care of yourselves.
Until next month…
“I have learned you are never too small to make a difference.”
~Greta Thunberg
- This is yet again a very appropriate time to be practicing Tonglen with Pema Chodron
Tonglen is the practice of “sending and taking,” an ancient Buddhist practice to awaken compassion. With each in-breath, we take in others’ pain. With each out-breath, we send them relief. To learn more, READ HERE. - From the CBC: If you’re anxious about climate change, here are some ways to feel more empowered
As well as an episode from CBC’s FrontBurner, “What to do about climate anxiety?” - Learn more about the land that we occupy. Explore Songhees shares a variety of cultural experiences on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen people including a “safe-distance” walking tour departing from Ship Point at 12 noon and 1pm every Saturday and Sunday.
- On Beaded Ground is still running at UVic Legacy Galleries at 630 Yates until Sept 18th. Admission is free.
On Beaded Ground explores the essential role of Indigenous artists’ creative practices in the reclamation and renewal of culture, identity, stories and teachings. The beaded artworks in the exhibition carry stories. The materials, methods of making, designs and functions of beaded objects are languages particularly devised to transmit memories, legacies and narratives between people across time and space. - YouTube Originals presents Vox’s Glad You Asked, an ensemble-led exploration of topics driven by our curiosity about the world around us. Producers Cleo Abram, Alex Clark, Joss Fong, and Christophe Haubursin share in their reporting as they discover why we cry, how the internet works, and if we’ll ever survive on mars. Their intersecting journeys reveal unexpected answers. Christina recommends episodes, “What happens when we die?” and “Why do we cry?”
- Christina’s favorite soundtracks!
Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, Yann Tiersen
Lost in Translation, Various Artists
Call me by your name, Various Artists
Heima, Sigur Ros (gorgeous full documentary accompanied by soundtrack)
In the mood for love, Shigeru Umebayashi
Minari, Emile Mosseri - TCM to the rescue, “In the Scorching Heat Wave, Smoky Plums Saved Me”, an article in the Tyee, by Christopher Cheung
- In need of food? Have a surplus of food? Visit the Victoria Community Fridge at 2725 Rock Bay
Organizing on Lekwungen territories as a part of @communityfoodsupportvictoria to make food free+accessible to everyone who needs it. - Accessible hair cuts and other services as part of a “hair bank” called Community Salons
Jamie McCallum opened Community Salons on Meares Street in May and is trading his tips for donations he’ll match to give people in need a free haircut. Find out more about Jamie’s beautiful initiative. - If you’re in a similar situation as Christina, you’re drowning in summer squash/zucchini…here are some seasonally appropriate ways to take advantage of this bounty and ensure it is optimally digestible with the incoming change of seasons:
Summer Squash Saute, by Two Peas & their Pod
Grilled Summer Squash and Red Onion with Feta, by Epicurious
Simple Grated Zucchini Kraut, by Cultures for Health
