I’m holding a box in my hands that contains the fruits of close to a decade of work. It’s a slow-cooked project called “Spiralaika,” an educational card game I developed for teens that builds connection and creativity through group activites and sharing. It also includes information about the menstrual cycle, so it’s geared more toward girls, but really anyone can play it. (Boys and men could certainly benefit from understanding this major aspect of girl's and women's lives!!)
I printed one set of cards to see if any tweaks need to be made, and my intention is to print 200 more. I’ve worked on this project in dribs and drabs while my children were small, sometimes sitting in a parking lot when there were a few solo moments to spare, or going to the library while my kids were at nature camp. I appreciate how slowly Spiralaika developed. It allowed me to grow with it, and to see that one of the lessons for me was around perseverance. Just take the next step, then listen. I kept asking myself if the next piece was aligned and I kept feeling a Yes. Moving in this way, sensing for a yes, is a consent practice.
I’ve heard writers, musicians, and artists say that artistic works are alive in their own way, that they receive a "download," or that the book is writing itself. I experience this with writing, with sudden insights, and with teaching material.
If we held businesses in this same way, as a living relationship, how would we interact with businesses?
I set the box down and scroll a bit on Facebook. I see a sea turtle pulled onto a ship and fisherman frantically but gently working to free the entangled turtle from a net. They pull a long clump of netting from its throat. I feel my grief at the reality that so many non-human beings are suffering greatly under the impact of human industrialization. I deeply want for sea life to not be choking on our waste.
When or why is it ever appropriate to manufacture anything? I ask myself. Especially in the business world, there’s a need for discernment around what really would contribute to beauty, evolution, and healing in the world. I'm constantly ruminating about my own potential hypocrisy. It’s part of why I've valued non-doing over doing. Idleness over productivity. There’s so much audacity mirrored in human behavior, especially business. I’ve felt conflicted about participating in this. Can I stand behind this intention to connect teens and adults with their bodies, hearts, minds, and each other? Yes. Is that worth producing packaging and paper and cloth game materials? Maybe. I think so. The healing and evolution of people (who are having a huge impact on the natural world) is essential for repairing our relationship to nature.
When I need to take a step forward, I do a number of things. I reach out to people whose perspective, vision, and point of view I trust. I expect my friends to tell me the truth, as they see it at least. I listen for guidance that can come through all kinds of channels. A song on the radio, a dream, a tarot card, or simple knowing around what the right action is. I find spaces to let go of the linear and logical solution-seeking mind, and pose the question to my body through movement. Clarity often emerges from somewhere other than the mind. I’m not just looking for confirmation bias. I feel for where the energy is flowing. Viewing forward movement as a practice of consent means things may shift, change course, or end. There needs to be space for the unexpected.
I pull a Tarot card. It's the four of Wands: It says: “If you have been working on a project, you will reach an important milestone and have reason to celebrate.”
Printing the cards and finally sharing this project is an important milestone. I accept the invitation to celebrate and to take pleasure in the creative energy I'm stewarding. I think I'll go dancing tonight.
Support Spiralaika on Kickstarter http://kck.st/3FlM54M
And visit the website at www.spiralaika.com
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