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inside the mind of naven: january reads
- Feb 6
- 4 min read
Starting this year I gave myself a goal, not the type of goal you start out strong with and then tend to fall off as the year progresses. But the type that reminds you that you 'get to' do these things. It's a privilege. it's a gift.
I get to wake up this morning. I get to read more. I get to move my body.
I'm a writer, I'm a facilitator, I'm an artist...but once upon a time there was a young girl who just LOVED to get lost in a book. Now I feel with every book I intuitively pick I find myself, more and more. A coming home if you will. Similar to the type of coming home to yourself that my work here at Naven is all about.
So of course, the goal was get back to that little girl who loved to read. But instead of getting lost, find myself more and more. In the stories, the education and everything in between. I'm not getting caught up on numbers per se... even though I do have numbers in mind for myself...but rather just read as much as possible as often as possible. Whether it's 5 minutes or 2 hours, do it every day if I can. I truly believe growth is a fundamental law of life. If we aren’t growing, we’re slowly contracting. Books stretch us. They nourish our brains, our imaginations, our souls.
For January I finished two books. Simply more, by Cynthia Erivo and To Speak for the Trees by Diane Beresford-Kroeger. I started off the year strong it seems as they both received 10s across the board. I'll use a 5 star rating system below though. So 5/5.
I'm starting to see more and more that your state really does determine your experience with anything. If you're in a lousy state, a really phenomenal book could come out really low on the totem pole of great reads for you. I mention this to say, had I tried to read either of these at a different point in my life, the resonance may have landed differently.
Shall we begin?
Cynthia Erivo
★★★★★
Non fiction Memoir, Inspirational Self Help
I was gifted this book by someone very special in my life. Someone who wanted me to embrace my muchness. If you don't know Cynthia, you should. If you haven't seen Wicked, you must. If you don't like musicals? I simply do not know how to respond.
This book brought me home to myself somehow simultaneously softly & boldly several times over.
"Striving for more is as natural as breathing, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise" is one of the many favourite quotes from this magical book.
Laughter inducing, reverently moving, a galvanizing memoir with reflections sprinkled thoughtfully throughout. The learning of her and the learning of yourself become beautifully intertwined. Like ribbons of colored smoke meeting midair, folding into one another until you can no longer tell where one ends and the other begins.
Diane Beresford Kroeger
★★★★★
Non fiction Memoir, Nature Environmental Writing
I can't even remember where I stumbled upon this book. I don't believe in coincidence otherwise I'd probably say it was a happy accident. I think it was a hole in the wall bookstore either downtown Toronto or downtown Kingston.
Sometimes I feel like books find me. Anyone who knows me well knows I feel very akin with nature. Hell, we should all, because we are...akin with nature that is. I have faith that we will find our way back, I have faith we already are.
This book is one of education, mysticism, sacred knowledge AND science. It bridges these worlds in a poetic story as Diane tells about her life, her studies, her Celtic ancestry and her ability to weave them all together.
She talks of the consciousness of trees. How they operate through complex biochemical systems. The compounds and chemicals they release actually regulate our nervous systems as well as the systems of other surrounding trees. We wouldn't be here without them. We are one with them, and them with us. They should be honoured. We should be honouring them.
Anyone who knows me knows this kind of thing speaks directly to my soul. I call upon nature when I do my work. I speak to the trees regularly...and sometimes they speak back to me too.
I am simply in awe of all I have learned in this book. This book is impactful. It makes you feel like you can save the planet, and then helps you realize you really can.
I get to be moved. I get to be changed.
These two books didn’t just entertain me — they expanded me. And that, to me, is the whole point.
Here’s to reading more. Growing more. Becoming more.
until next month,
xoxo
carla @ navenalchemy
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