Birdsong, Performance Ethnography, and the Science of Living this Human Life
I never saw myself as a scientist. As a little girl from the 80s, we were not often taught in school to see ourselves as scientists. Thank goodness for Ms. Frizzle, who encouraged this young girl to sit with her curiosity, get small, and ponder.
My son loves nature. If not for him, I’m not sure I would’ve come to appreciate my own love for the gift of simple presence that nature provides in all its glorious wonder. While humans are my favorite species to unravel, I feel my life walks easier the more I connect with a vast array of species here on the globe. Did you know there are purple and gold swallows flying around in Howard County, MD? I didn’t and now I can’t stop looking and wondering where I am in the experience of migration for a whole variety of species.
There is inherent in most of us a heart that is always calling to others, and my love is discovering where that heart lies and what it wants to share- sometimes it’s food, home, family, work. I’ll take the long road if necessary to find out, and what a journey and adventure we can have as I find myself navigating alongside you in life. What a gift we each offer in our presence, nothing else. Eyes, ears, heart, mind- everything open to this time and space. What a gift.
You know it when you receive it, and it’s sadly quite refreshing when you’re in lack.
I always feel a little sad when I can hear the surprise in someone being valued or feeling seen.
Life is draining. We must keep up to keep up and it’s all a bit of a rat race racket. Sitting in this well of human confusion and love is where I remind myself to do my best to show up with grace, curiosity, and a broad understanding that I have no clue, and whoever I encounter might just have something cool to know.
Life is surely filled with a lot more wonder, and it gets a whole lot easier when I’m out here in the wilds of Howard County, on my own and never alone. Seeing everyone as both somebody and just another body out here doing their best to be. And it’s from this space that I graciously welcome you to the first episode, an introduction to Always Welcome: A Social Arts Salon.
This is just the beginning, join me.
Always Welcome 