As we were first struggling with the idea of living in a time of global pandemic and quarantine, there was a widespread feeling of confusion, panic and fear. But then, as we slowly settled into the new mode of working - or at least those of us who are lucky enough to be able to work from home - many of us discovered new ways of not just working, but connecting, listening and looking. I started looking more carefully at nature, noticing things invisible to me before.
Seeing how amazing trees are - new life often growing out of dead trees, new branches out of ones that looked long gone already just a week earlier, new trees using their elders as support in their fragile youth, tiny bits of moss making the trees look green all over, the most beautiful blooms coming out on trees that looked like out of a scary forest from a fairy tale just a few days before. Trees growing sideways, looking like benches made by nature.
Bumble bees stubbornly banging their heads against the window, again and again, looking to get in, against all odds. Unaffected by their failure, turning around and carrying on calmly. The power of nature to grow and persevere, is astounding.
New paths in the forest. Strolling away from humanity. Partly in fear of the virus, partly in slowness, curiosity and reflexivity that's been one of the most pleasant side effects of it. Exploring new ways of walking. And new ways of being.
Green - newly discovered in all its wonder. It's incredible how many different shades of green exist in just one forest. How quickly they change. It's amazing to realise things unseen before. They were always there, after all. Are we more able to see now? More ready to look? I ask myself a lot of these types of questions these days.
Today I also noticed growth... And I mean plant growth. That, to me at least, entails next level attention to detail. A shift in focus that isn't normally easy, in a world that is so fast paced. Normally. The world as we know it has changed. And it seems to me like we're all changing with it, whether we want to or not.
It all seems a marvel to me. Noticing nature as if for the first time. You could also think of it as an everyday thing. After all, it all happens without most of us noticing every day. And yet, noticing it for the first time makes it seem magical. I will endeavour to do this more from now on.
Magda Oldziejewska is a Feminist activist, organiser and writer. A Polish feminist in London. Queer.
She tweets @magdaoljejor and blogs at angelsandwitches.com.
