Hello again Wild Soul.
As it is coming up to 6 years since we first created Wild Fen, I thought it may be a good time to take a trip down memory lane on quite how we arrived here.
In 2019, we were living together in the Fens, and spent our spare time exploring the land around us; watching wildlife, learning about wild plants, foraging and generally immersing ourselves in nature as often as was possible.
Chris was working as a landscape gardener after a 10 year period as a self-taught graphic designer. I was working for a mental health charity, where I supported individuals and groups with their wellbeing. I particularly loved running mindfulness workshops and getting outdoors with people, where I often witnessed their stress levels reduce and their perspective shift or open.
About a year in to our life in the Fens, Chris became really unwell with what was eventually diagnosed as glandular fever, with viral and bacterial tonsillitis. He ended up in hospital unable to eat or drink, struggling to fight the virus and infections. He was off work for about 2 months in total and during these uncertain times, we found ourselves reflecting on our life.
We talked about how much we wanted to travel and to spend more time in nature. We both had the urge to create ‘something’, although what that ‘something’ was, was unclear.
Looking back, his illness was like a catalyst that picked up many of our ‘far off’ dreams and plonked them right at our table to look at more seriously.
A few months later and after much soul searching, we found ourselves pushing send on our resignation emails and giving one month’s notice for leaving our home. Fear and excitement being experienced in equal measure.
It felt wild, reckless in the eyes of some and yet a fire had been lit in us both, to try something different. To take a ‘leap’. We sold our belongings, temporarily moved in with family and set about our search for a van that we could convert into a tiny home.
Wild Fen did not arrive with a clear vision and instead grew the more that we listened and tended to the soil of our lives. It grew from a deepening connection to the land around us and a desire to share that with others.
It grew alongside the herbs that I tended in my Mum’s garden, and wove into smoulder sticks that I made as a gift to family at Christmas, and later shared online just incase anyone may want one.
And over time it has expanded like a network of roots making their way through the earth. The more time that we spend on the land, the more we noticed, observed and felt guided by the wild world around us.
Running a small business has not been without its challenges, and whilst there are aspects of life that feel idyllic, there are plenty that feel overwhelming, uncertain and demotivating at times too.
But we are here, and have thus far at least, found our way around the challenges, just like tree roots pass around the unmoveable rocks hidden within the soil.
If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy catching up with our journey a little more:
With love,
Nic x
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