Wendy Froud’s Thoughts on Connecting

In my rather long acquaintance with the world of Faerie, there are a few things that have helped me stay connected to that world. I believe that in these strange times of feeling and indeed being disconnected from our normal lives – isolated from our friends and family and wondering where the next toilet roll may come from, it’s important to remember that we can still connect with Faerie – and by doing so, can stay connected to our own world as well.

The most important thing the faeries have taught me is to pay attention.

When Brian, Toby and I teach workshops, the one thing we always do is start with a guided meditation; a journey into the otherworld and a journey into our own interior creative space.

These journeys are constructed to use all of the senses – sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. They pose these questions: what can you see? what does it look like? How does it feel to touch it? What can you hear? What can you taste? What can you smell? And probably most importantly, how do you feel while you are experiencing these things? Using all of your senses this way is “paying attention,” and that is what the faeries ask of us.

This technique works equally well in our outer, every day world. Paying attention – REALLY paying attention is something most of us fail to do most of the time. And that’s because we very often don’t stop to truly experience the ordinary things we do automatically.

But – if we slow down – and now is the perfect time to try doing that – we can begin to see the magic in everything. Because it IS there.

Brian and I are incredibly lucky to live in the country. We are surrounded, not by humans, but by nature. This makes what we do a whole lot easier and has given us the practice we need to truly experience the magical world around us.

Every spring amazes me but this one seems more beautiful and perhaps more precious than most others I remember. Maybe its because I’m taking the time to really look at each flower and leaf that I turn my attention to – listening to the sounds around me – birds singing and sheep baa-ing – and by doing that, I can sense the magic in each thing I’m focusing on.

We know the science of how and why plants grow and birds sing, but just imagine for a moment that along side the world we can see, is the world we can’t ordinarily see – the world where nature spirits, faeries and divas walk or fly or dance with our world – because they do. The world vibrates with the energy of those beings we cannot see.

OK – there’s an abundance of nature around me, so it’s easy, but what about if you are truly stuck indoors with a window that faces a brick wall? Open the window and just listen. What can you hear? I would bet that it’s much, much quieter than you’ve ever remembered hearing (or not hearing). Keep listening – bird song might come into focus, dogs barking, cats meowing; you might hear trees rustling in the wind even if you can’t see them, the light will change from hour to hour as the day turns to night. Stop and watch. Look at the colours and the light change in your living space. What can you smell around you? I’ll bet it won’t smell of car exhaust. It might smell of ivy on a wall coming into bloom or maybe of your neighbour’s cooking. Think about that – see if you can figure out what they’re cooking. Can you taste it? Can you hear music or voices? What does that remind you of? Close your eyes and just listen.

Do you have an indoor plant or a vase of flowers? Pay attention to it. It will be growing and changing too. Study the plant or the flowers and then try to visualise what the faeries or nature spirits that are attached to each one looks like. If you can visualise it, you can communicate with it in some way. Ask it if there something it would like you to do. Water it? Talk to it? Just notice it? Do something completely different?

Each fruit or vegetable you have in your kitchen deserves to be appreciated before you chop it up and eat it. Don’t worry – they are there to be eaten –  but they will nourish your soul as well as your stomach if you pay attention to them before you do that.

I really believe that the world of Faerie – the world that is so absolutely entwined with our natural world, wants more than anything, to be acknowledged and appreciated. The healing we all need is theirs to give us – and I’m talking about soul healing, which can sometimes lead to physical healing too.

So – pay attention. The world of Faerie, closer than a breath away, is waiting for you to discover it, remember it and rejoice in it.

And think of this – you absolutely don’t have to practice social distancing with Faeries!