Marie Louise Edwards
Welcome to our Spring edition of Northern Edge. It has come a bit late this year, at this unusual time we have had to adapt in a number of ways both as individuals and as a team. There has been a huge amount of change for us all within our network, sometimes psychological, sometimes emotional and generally practical to process.
Our current worldwide pandemic predicament has left many of us experiencing a range of different ways of being over these past few weeks. Perhaps for some, a more measured pace of life, restrictions on what we are able to do and a need to grasp some of our emerging technologies so as to continue working and socialising as necessary. For others, much less time, juggling employment commitments and home schooling for example. We do hope that this newsletter finds you and your loved ones well and that our attempts at teaching and connecting online have not been too challenging or disruptive for those who have been able to engage with this. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to any individuals or families reading this who have been directly impacted.
Recent events have shown just how vulnerable our international food chain and supply is; as witnessed before the recent lockdown began. Once again, our dominant system and culture has exposed its fragility. Yet in response to this, vast numbers of people took appropriate action and numerous online organic and heirloom seed, plant and gardening stores sold out or were inundated with orders leading to backlogs and delays lasting weeks. Some people have been panic buying while others have prioritised using this time to pursue gardening at a leisurely pace which they may not have had an opportunity to do before lockdown began. Either way, these are largely positive outcomes which will benefit our beautiful planet and our communities as we move forward. Hopefully, we all benefit when we share our accumulated wealth with those around us.
Perhaps our global scenario has also left us with a greater awareness of how much we need each other. In addition it offers us a chance to demonstrate how in challenging situations we do have the ability to pull together for the common good of all. An excellent precedent when reflecting on the ecological issues we are likely to be faced with in the near future. We may need to find ways to support each other as we move out of this crisis as many people and families are likely to experience financial hardship and so be more vulnerable than they had been before. Again, corporations and banks may look to maximise their own interests at the expense of the populace. After so many years of austerity, this is a trajectory many of us will not wish to support. If we can mobilise for this health issue, we may ask ourselves what other issues can we work fruitfully together to address? Could we bring about a world in which all life is valued and all people are able to move towards abundance and vitality?
It is becoming more and more clear that acting locally and developing resilience in our immediate communities is the only sensible way forward. Together we can ensure that this is achieved. We look forward to continuing our journey with you as we edge towards the blossoming, vibrant, living world that we all envision.
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