Regeneration: A Powerful New Guiding Word for 2021

Jaceybonavia/ Climate, Conscious Consumerism, Conservation, Eco-minimalism, Fungi, Intentional Living, Lifestyle, Plants, Pollution, Slow Living, Wildlife, Zero Waste

In 2021, my guiding word is regenerate or regeneration.

For many people, January means that it’s time to make resolutions for the new year. Typical New Year’s resolutions include

1. Lose weight
2. Eat healthily
3. Get fit

In my recovery from overexercising and restrictive anorexia nervosa, I realized that I needed to abandon traditional new year resolutions. In 2019, I decided to choose a word, rather than a resolution, to guide me during the year. I chose compassion. Compassion, especially self-compassion, was essential during that life-changing year. I quit my career, ended a long-term relationship, and moved across the country. With patience and compassion, I was able to excel at a new job in a different place, and, more importantly, I met the love of my life. 

For 2020, I picked a new word: full. This word guided me to eat until satiety and make tremendous progress toward full recovery from my disordered eating. It also helped me lead a more fulfilling life throughout the year. I began to explore my sustainability and wildlife ecology passions more intimately and continued to grow deeper relationships with loved ones. You can read all about my experience with 2020 here.

Because picking a guiding word has helped align my actions with my values during the past two years, I decided to select another word for 2021: regenerate.

regenerate 

(verb) : re·​gen·​er·​ate | \ ri-ˈje-nə-ˌrāt \

1. to become formed again
2. to undergo renewal or restoration of a body, bodily part, or biological system (such as a forest) after injury or as a normal process
3. a. to subject to spiritual renewal or revival
   b. to change radically and for the better
4. to generate or produce anew
5. to restore to original strength or properties

(I adapted this definition from Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary.)

Please note that the links to the books are affiliate links. If you purchase any of these books through the links on this page, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Self-Regeneration

First and foremost, I will work on self-regeneration. In this essay, I am using self in the traditional WASP sense of the word (i.e., me as an individual, who is distinguishable from all other organisms). However, as I read Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, by Merlin Sheldrake, my perception of “self” and “individual” is changing radically. After a series of challenges during which I lost myself in my 20s, I will change for the better by aligning my actions with my deeply held values.

Eating Disorder Recovery

This year, in addition to continuing to practice recovery behaviors, I intend to restore all of the strength I had before I developed my eating disorder. With continued nourishment, I hope to revive my body and mind. For example, I hope to carry heavier objects, walk longer distances without getting winded, concentrate for more extended periods, and commit more knowledge and experiences to memory. Recovery will also allow my relationships to grow to be more robust and authentic.

Learning and Nature

In college and graduate school, I studied archaeology and museums. This year, I want to explore my renewed passions for–and generate a broader understanding of–wildlife ecology and sustainable and regenerative practices. Most likely, I will delve into this through reading. I am so excited to read all of the books I received for Christmas. (Thanks, fam!) I also hope to take more courses and learn from more hands-on experiences.

Books I received for Christmas, which I plan to read in 2021:

• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Companion, Guild and Succession Planting by the Regenerative Leadership Institute
• Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake
• Give A Sh*t: Do Good, Live Better Save the Planet by Ashlee Piper
• Mini-Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre by Brett L. Markham
• Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren
• The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wohlleben (unabridged version)
• The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs: Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animals, and Other Forgotten Skills by Tristan Gooley
• This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein
• Thus Spoke the Plant: A Remarkable Journey of Groundbreaking Scientific Discoveries and Personal Encounters with Plants by Monica Gagliano

Spirituality

My father raised me in the Catholic Church. I had a religion to help connect me with something beyond myself. As I grew older, I recognized that this religious tradition conflicted with many of my beliefs and values, and I left the Church. Since then, I have not had a consistent spiritual practice.

This year, I hope to explore my spirituality more, though not related to any formal religion. Rather, I will investigate my place in the interconnected world of humans, other animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and even nonliving beings.

Rest

If 2020 taught me one thing, it is that rest is essential. I have rested more in 2020 than ever before, and it has allowed me to achieve far more than if I pushed myself to be productive for longer hours. Rest allowed me to show up with more knowledge, creativity, energy, and passion. 

What will you do to grow or renew yourself in 2021? (Seriously, let us know below.)

Ecological Regeneration

In our lifetimes, the two biggest crises are the climate emergency and the extinction crisis, which go hand-in-hand. The solution to both is ecological regeneration. Here is my plan to contribute to environmental regeneration in 2021.

I will divest from extractive industries and reduce my pollution. For example, I will continue to live a low-waste lifestyle. For example, I will use

• a metal safety razor;
• cloth toilet paper, napkins, and un-paper towels;
• a reusable menstrual cup, period panties, and cloth pads;
• a compostable wooden hairbrush;
• reusable food storage containers, eating utensils, dishes, bottles.

I will also drive less, which will be easy, considering I do not currently have a functioning vehicle. I also intend to use less energy, pick up litter, and minimize purchasing new items, especially clothing.

I will also contribute to soil regeneration by composting organic scraps rather than sending them to the landfill. I will use an outdoor compost tumbler and my indoor worm bin.

Finally, through this website and beyond, I will advocate for ecological restoration, and I will educate others on regeneration methods as I learn. I will be your companion on your own journey to live sustainably in a way that regenerates–rather than depletes–the natural world.

What will you do to help natural systems regenerate and thrive? (Seriously, let us know below.)

Societal Regeneration

2021 is ripe with opportunities for societal regeneration, especially in the United States. 

COVID-19 Vaccine

As the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine continues, we will reduce the infection rate and the death toll. Although I hope that we do not return to our pre-COVID-19 “normal,” I look forward to all of us being able to connect with loved ones outside of our households. 

End of the Trump Era 

On January 20th, we will say, “good riddance,” as Donald Trump leaves the office of the President of the United States of America, and the United States swears in Joe Biden as the 46th president. 

Honestly, President-elect Biden is not an entirely progressive politician, and he was not my top choice for the Democratic nomination. I truly believed it was important for a woman or another person of color to hold this crucial office in this critical time.

However, I am hopeful because Biden is filling top government and advisory positions with an array of diverse, brilliant people. For example, I am happy to see that, for the first time, a Native American woman, Deb Haaland (D-NM), was nominated to be the Secretary of Interior. Likewise, I am pleased that Biden selected Michael S. Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Values-Based Regeneration

I am hopeful that with the new leadership in Washington, D.C., as we emerge from the global pandemic, we will rebuild the United States to be a leader in social justice, human rights, gun violence prevention, climate change mitigation, and environmental protection, among other progressive values. 

To help us achieve this, I will sign petitions, email politicians, and support nonprofit organizations. I will use this platform to share my knowledge and values and motivate you all to take action in your lives.

Together, let’s recreate Turtle Island. (Turtle Island is a common name for so-called North America among many Indigenous and First Nations cultures.) Let’s create a place that uplifts social justice and equity, community care, affordable education and housing, access to good healthcare and nutritious food, and fair distribution of wealth. Let’s tear down colonialism, racism, patriarchy, consumerism, and capitalism as we know it. Let’s create a society that values all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexuality, body size, physical or mental ability, age, or socioeconomic status. Let’s shape a society in which we live in harmony with all people and all of the more-than-human beings with whom we share Mother Earth.

What will you do to help create a better, more equitable, and less extractive and exploitive society? (Seriously, let us know below.)

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