Tanya Massy - Can love create unison of head, hands and heart?

Spending time in wild places has taught this 5th generation farmer to quietly find ways to listen to others, those who often don't have a voice but have so much to teach the rest of us.  The challenge is in finding ways to give them their own way of being deeply heard.

Engaging in relationships with local traditional owners  is the  beginning of her journey of uncovering history and rebuilding the path forward. To make this possible, Tanya leans on love, not the 'sugarised' popular culture version,  but the kind that  asks us to step into harder, more complicated challenges where climate is creating environments which are anti life. Tanyas 'tomorrow' is focussed on growing her heart big enough to lean into the challenges we all need to confront.

"Despite it feeling vulnerable - we need big love to stay committed to our people, place and the challenges faced by humanity. 

Show Notes Navigating  succession planning  on the family farm

Why she farms

Her love of music took her to Tenant Creek and taught her how to listen

Wilderness School in the USA

Success = love for and from others, love for place, love for land

Reckoning with the truth of farming land that was colonised by her family and never ceded

Love for the visceral raw beauty of the country she calls home

Doing the work required to repair the damage done.

Using ‘invisibility’ to navigate a male dominated farming sector

Her dads support to be what she wanted to be despite being female

Identifying with women who were not ‘visible’ but were still offering valuable contribution

Finding maturity and strength in your own way and time

Being part of a team on family farms

Deeply listening

Exploring solo, observing the outside world until the connection with self is seamless

Letting the outside wash over questions you are wrestling with 

The formative experience of living with indigenous Australians on country

Experiencing what it feels like to be a white minority - a necessary unsettling experience to gain profound perspective and humility

Diversifying her farming to incorporate horticulture as well as livestock

Actively seeking time in community where collective efforts were her salve to city life

Using community dance to release unspoken tensions

Her love of music and dance since very early childhood - fluid, joyful, embodied wonder that gets us out of our heads - she now dances in the paddock with her sheep 

Breaking into song with her gran in her last week of life

The power of community to dissipate grief

Leaning into grief with open emotion and active presence while we celebrate and harvest memories

Grieving collectively

Being reassured by the sense of their being a collective effort 

Her freelance for Wonderground

Being apprenticed to country as a way of caring  References

David Org - Ecological Literacy

Wonderground Journal Podcast partners ROCK! Hidden Sea - Wine that saves the sea

Nutrisoil

Wwoof Australia Buy the Book - Futuresteading - Live Like tomorrow matters Support the show

Casual Support - Buy Me A Coffee

Regular Support - Patreon Support the Show.