Dear Human, Spring is Coming!
(at least on the Northern hemisphere)

What makes us different from machines is definitely being connected to outside conditions. There is so much that can influence us. Of course the most influential are people around us, individually and in systems, but this time, because Spring is coming, I'd like to explore how humans can connect to nature a bit more.

Before that some news:

[BLOG POST] There is a new blog post! I'm sharing my personal story being strangely oblivious to signs of burnout, to make sure people won't make my mistakes. You can read it here.

[WORKSHOPS AND WEBINARS] I finished the second workshop about the activist burnout and I thought - hey, do you want to invite me to your city or organization, I'd be happy to come! Contact me, and let's figure out how to make it possible offline or even in interactive, yet online of a webinar.

[UPCOMING EVENTS] Let's meet face to face! Personal Democracy Forum Central and Eastern Europe is coming in three weeks (Gdańsk, April 4-5), I will be there for sure!

Also, POINT Conference in Sarajevo (May 16-19) opened its submissions for travel grants and being a speaker, not only I highly recommend this event, but also there is a big chance I will be making a free workshop for burnout activists there. And hush-hush because a special, 12-hours workshop is now being cooked exclusively for activists in Pomeranian region (stay tuned for more).

ps. pictures used in this newsletter are made by my talented friend Aleksandra Zdeb of Zdebster Photography. (and yes you can hire her!)

And now let's come back to the main topic - humans vs nature.

For a long time, I thought this is a lot of rubbish. Too much hocus-pocus and being way too close to wishful thinking and the wrong kind of "magic" that lets you just sit and wait for a miracle. All those focusing on the energy and creating the reality with your mind. Very not my kind of thing.

But on the other side, there are all the rituals connected to nature that all humans cultures created throughout the thousands of years we existed. So there is something there for sure, maybe it's just a question of balancing what is superstition and witchcraft and what is the healthy relation to it. And... probably it's very subjective and everybody is on the different place on the scale. So here we have a person from the second decade of XXI century trying to find the balance between being modern tech-enthusiastic human, at the same time trying to not run away from the roots of being a creature of nature.

If you're like me, you might be not too deeply spiritual, not too much about energies and vibes. But you might be all about enjoying outside world, being amazed about how complex it is (far more complex than created by humans VUCA* world) and willing to learn from it and draw from it, without exhausting this unique supply. Well then, the nowadays world is not that easy for you too.  It's just hard to find balance. On one side there is all that seems crazy hippie, far removed from reality approach, on the other side we have the world depleted from contact with nature. The big question remains how to keep the balance. Especially if we live in the city.

*VUCA: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity

This Newsletter will be shorter, because it is not about reading about how to connect to nature, but actually finding it and trying to incorporate it in your life. No matter if it is the weekend or working day, I hope there is always a way to experience it. When not for twenty minutes (or for an hour - as weird as it sounds), then maybe for five.

In today's gift you can find few ideas on how to use senses for connecting to nature. Not too many, and not too rebellious, because we all have our unique ways to do it. Sometimes we just forget how easy and quick it is to do it and how much joy it brings.

ps. please share your ways to connect to nature. Let's build this resource together!

My name is Anna Kuliberda and as a coach, I work with individuals as well as with organizations on finding the right ways to make activism sustainable in three dimensions: personal choices; supporting communities in building anti-burnout culture of balancing passion with reasonable resources management; and with more formal non-profit organizations and other institutions on introducing anti-burnout strategies and human-friendly, and management efficient environment.

Contact me at: anna.kuliberda@gmail.com

Like my Facebook Page: The Radical Act of Self Care

Follow me on Instagram: The Radical Act of Self-Care

and be up to date with all the news from the activism self-care world.