Lessons from the Water

Lessons from the Water She says listen to the moon To the reflection and the pull To the puddles of gravity That calls your real name She says to flow with her But I thought flow happens In serene and still waters She humbles me She says to feel is to feel The depth of loss and Length of fear that Will ease into release Ease into the lift of laughter She says constant as I am I am free from your constraint The rhythms against your chest Beats at my rate of change She says surrender to me I was born by the Pacific Ocean and I have always been drawn to the water. My childhood home is by the bay. When I was old enough, I would bike to the water and really relish the salty air and the sunshine.Out of all the elements, water is the one that most captivates and scares me.When I was introduced to the ideas of emergent strategy, the cornerstone of learning from nature really stuck with me. How can we observe and learn from natural cycles and patterns in how we move towards liberation?The colonial movement to conquer and over ride is so internalized.This is a tangent, but I used to watch that show on Netflix called Alone, where individuals try to survive in so called Alaska. So many problematic things in the show. What stood out to me was that those who survived the longest most often had a reverence to nature. They chose to listen and adapt. Those who didn’t make it as far were ex military men who had that conquering mindset - the “man vs wild” vibe. Ew.Back to emergent strategy, I’m compelled to deepen my respect for water. In my healing from personal and systemic trauma, my read on certain change feels threatening. Thinking about pursuing liberation in this lifetime, I think that the water has many lessons on trusting people + the process through the chaos WHILE being rooted in reducing harm. So much more there to unpack. Next time!Donate to SAPA for their Ramadan for Sudan Campaign and Share! All Eyes on Sudan.Tiffany’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to LIBERATORY IMAGINATION at tiffanywongart.substack.com/subscribe