Outpost 04: After Basic Needs, Comes ______ (fill in the blank)
Should I just make some sea garbage art and call it a day?
Oh hi, it’s me, Morgan. You most likely found this newsletter through my instagram @out.yard or website. Or if a friend recommended this, hello!
A few weeks ago, at Kuma’s nature group, the parents and kiddos were all given bowls and told to forage edible plants to make a communal salad. As someone who could only really identify dandelions (edible!) in the area we were in, my first reaction was ‘oh shit’ as the kid and parent duos went on their way to forage. But Kuma, my unafraid 3-year-old, kept picking plants and running up to the mentor and asking, ‘is this edible??’ over and over again until we figured it out. And it was one of the many times I’ve been in awe of the little human I made who is way braver than me to ask any question without any notion of feeling dumb about it. And in the end, the families brought all their foraged finds together, and we actually made a substantial (and surprisingly tasty) salad.
And then, soon after, I started watching the reality tv series “Alone”, which is a show where 10 survivalist-type people get placed in remote parts of Vancouver Island with 10 tools and their clothing and see who lasts out there the longest. In the show, finding FOOD is a major component of their daily survival, and there they all are looking at the same type of plants I was looking at and trying to figure out which ones are edible. It’s the same climate as my home. And it really hit home how connected we, as humans, should be to the plants around us and the reality of how deeply disconnected most of us actually are.
The other part of this show that struck me was how (a bit of a spoiler) - once the contestants' basic needs were met (you know - food, water, shelter) - a lot of people start losing their edge because they get really freaking bored. Like, depression-level boredom. They find food, they make a fire, they sit around and thoughts start looping in their head as their mental health deteriorates. But, not all of them have this issue. The other folks are making kayaks and weaving fish traps from a garbage-y rope that washed up to shore and just spending the time to make quality, beautiful things because they can.
“I just try to make things beautiful, besides useful.. Make it so that the objects you use, everyday objects, become meaningful.” - Jose, Alone Season 2, while carving a fishing tool
Since watching the first few seasons of 'Alone', my mind sometimes wanders to what projects I’d spend my time on if I was alone on a deserted island with my basic needs met. Would I be spending days weaving with some sea garbage? Would I figure out what pigments could be distilled just with what’s around me? There was even one person on the show who was trying to make his own pottery! And then I get hit with the realization that I could be doing any of these things right now without needing to put myself in an extreme situation. I could just pursue fun activities, just because. Woah.
I usually feel like I don't have the time to do much of just pursuing my own interests with a kid and mortgage and life, but then I look at the time tracker on my phone and realize that I have time, I’m just not allocating it well. A couple days ago, I uninstalled Instagram and Facebook off my phone (still doing a quick check on my laptop every day or 2) and what a shift. I swear it’s the only reason I ‘found’ the time to write this newsletter. I don’t know how long I’ll last without that dopamine rush of the social media scroll, but if ya ever need to be hyper-productive, I recommend it.
I hope we can all connect to the land, to the plants, and to those creative ideas that don’t have a set purpose a bit more this summer.
Things I’m thinking about / what to share with you:
Watch ‘Alone’ with me! It’s made by the History Channel, but I’m watching it on Prime. Here’s Nicole - she’s my favourite, just a beacon of positivity amongst some real grumps.
“I replaced Social Media with Micro-Journalling for 1 Year” - my inspiration for uninstalling Instagram (though I have yet to micro-journal..it’s more like responding to all those emails that just kind of fell off track — very useful!)
Recipe: Speaking of dandelions, a recommendation from one of the other parents at the nature group - Dandelion pakoras. I think you could use any pakora recipe and just add dandelion, but here’s a recipe to legitimize it
Food Magic: Grape Hyacinth Lemonade - I made this and it was indeed magical - it changes colour from gray-ish purple to bright pink (but tastes kind of bitter?)
Me, after being off Instagram for 2 days:
