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Ep.95 The Loneliness of the ‘Black Sheep’
49 Plays18 days ago
In this episode, I explore what it truly means to be a pioneer thinker—someone who sees possibilities before others, carves new paths, and thrives in the unknown. Nature is full of pioneers—fireweed, lichens, and other species that move into disrupted spaces and create the conditions for new life to emerge. And just like them, your role isn’t to fit in—it’s to reshape the landscape.
But being ahead of the curve can be lonely. It takes resilience, trust in your vision, and a personal ecosystem that supports your growth. Together, we’ll explore how to thrive without waiting for permission, cultivate support even when others don’t fully understand you, and build a future where your visionary ideas can flourish.
Topics Covered about Alternative Thinking
➡️ Why being "the black sheep" is actually a sign of leadership and innovation.
➡️ How nature’s pioneer species teach us resilience and transformation.
➡️ Ways to cultivate a personal ecosystem that supports your vision.
➡️ How to stay true to your ideas, even when others don’t see what you see.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:40 Embracing the Outlier in Nature
12:03 Who Gives a Crap?
13:50 Visionary Ideas and Change
20:27 Pioneer Species and Landscape Evolution
27:20 Pioneer Species: Healers and Architects
31:07 Personal Ecosystems for Creativity
Resources Mentioned
🌱 What's Your Spirit Wild Plant?
🌱 Personalized mentorship with me and the Plants
Expanded Show Notes
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Transcript
Introduction and Listener Feedback
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Reconnect with Plant Wisdom. It's me, Tigraya Cardenia. Lately, I have been hearing from so many of you.
00:00:14
Speaker
ah already like My heart already hurts from what I'm about to say, but it needs to be said, okay.
Feeling Different and Misunderstood
00:00:27
Speaker
I've been hearing from a lot of you about this whole aspect of being different, of seeing the world through a different lens or walking a different path. You know, things that people, that the others around you don't quite understand and especially right now in the climate that we're in where it feels like for a while we were moving towards the acceptance and understanding and there was like all these pieces. Okay, no, it was never perfect. I am not pretending that there was utopia. But it really did feel like there was more veils being kind of pulled down and there was more acceptance sort of coming in and then somewhere in the last few years, everything went down the tubes.
The 'Black Sheep' as a Symbol of Innovation
00:01:11
Speaker
and And in particular, those of us that have experienced in life the idea of maybe being called the black sheep. ah Some that are the dreamers or a lollygag. I love that word. I really do love that word I actually embraced the lollygag or the one that really doesn't fit neatly in the box in this particular climate where on the one hand we have so many tools that give us the opportunity of Forging your own path, right? It's not the idea that you either need it to be a banker a lawyer a doctor or something like that and at the same time There's this sort of
00:01:44
Speaker
fear of of being called out because you're sort of charging your own path. And so therefore, there's this feeling that you have to hide, especially from an older generation, okay? I am not a youngin. I am not a millennial. I am a Gen-Xer. Very proud Gen-Xer.
00:02:04
Speaker
And especially from you know my age demographic and even above, my brother who calls himself a barely boomer, but he's a boomer. And you know we talk about this all the time, about the idea that like you're you're flawed if you're outside of these norms. And as we get older and kind of still have so much vivacity and life in us and we want to finally live our own path.
Pioneering in Nature and Society
00:02:29
Speaker
So my question to you is, what if this whole black sheep thing that you've probably been your entire life isn't a flaw?
00:02:36
Speaker
i And instead, what if it's a sign that you're here to bring something new to the world? You know, nature is full of pioneers, ah pioneer species like fireweed and lichens that don't wait for any of the perfect conditions to tell them how to act. They make space for themselves, thriving in places that others completely overlook. And because these pioneer species quickly occupied disrupted spaces,
00:03:05
Speaker
Disruptive spaces, folks. We're talking about the present tense, disrupted spaces. They are sometimes treated as weeds, not in the beautiful way that I'm sure that you, because you're listening here, probably think of them, but in the way that sort of a suburban America thinks of weeds, like a nuisance wildlife. And And so you see, they you kind of feel like you yourself are a dandelion or a stinging nettle, which makes sense as to why the first freebie I ever created was the spirit wild plant quiz, because I really felt like I identified with weeds with these wild plants.
00:03:41
Speaker
But these spirit wild plants, they have so much to teach us about paving our own way. And that's the reason why I wanted each one of us to really understand that wildness inside of ourselves. So today, we're going to be exploring these resilient plants that can show us about belonging without compromising your values and how to use all of your quirkiness to make the unimaginable imaginable because that's really what we heard
Creating a Supportive Personal Ecosystem
00:04:10
Speaker
it for. How do you create a personal ecosystem where you feel supported even when you stand apart? You don't have to be like everybody else in order to be supported by everyone else. So this is going to touch a lot of buttons. I have no doubt. So just be warned and you know grab yourself a nice cup of tea or for those of you that drink coffee, I am a tea drinker. So I will be drinking my tea.
00:04:36
Speaker
And let's just get into episode 95, the loneliness of the black sheep, finding belonging as an alternative thinker.
00:04:48
Speaker
Welcome to Reconnect with Plant Wisdom. I'm your host, Tigria Gardenia, nature-inspired mentor, certified life coach, and the founder of the Naturally Conscious share their practical wisdom to help you consciously embody the
00:05:16
Speaker
Together, we'll explore how ecosystem thinking helps you overcome limiting beliefs, understand the true nature of relationships and live an authentic, impactful life.
00:05:31
Speaker
All right, so we're going to touch on a number of different ideas. These are these key points that I always want to express to you so that you know this is exactly where we're getting into. We're going to get into why feeling like an outliner is often a sign of being ahead of the curve. It's actually like you're beyond your time.
00:05:47
Speaker
And this often means perceiving possibilities that haven't yet materialized for others. So you you see and think and know things that others can't really understand. And historically, every major shift, whether it's scientific or philosophical or cultural, has come from people who refuse to conform.
00:06:06
Speaker
right Nature operates the same way. Ecological edges and species in what we call ecotones, I promise I'm going to get into all of that in a minute, thrive at the intersection of these two worlds. So they are always testing the limits of what is possible. Pioneer species, which is the other point I want to hit, are these models for carving out space and thriving in unexpected places.
The Challenges and Rewards of Being a Pioneer
00:06:27
Speaker
So we're really going to get into the fact that if you're someone who sees beyond the present reality, or maybe you see an alternative version of the present reality, you're you're not just ahead of the curve, you're what's called a pioneer and a pioneer species. And being a pioneer can be super lonely and unpredictable and sometimes exhausting. Let's just be honest, exhausting.
00:06:49
Speaker
But I promise you, you are in good company because nature is full of pioneer species. These are species that don't just survive in harsh conditions, but they actually prepare the ground for what comes next. They teach us how to carve out space and thrive, even when the odds seem stacked against us. And then the last piece, which is really important for the pioneer species, is how to cultivate a personal ecosystem that supports your way of thinking.
00:07:16
Speaker
Being on the edge, you know, that cutting edge that always at the avant-garde requires lots of energy. You don't have a foundation to lean on like many people do. You oftentimes struggle even with finding a partner for which you can lean on and partner. I make that in the most generic sense of the word because if you're already on the edge, you're usually supporting others and it's very hard for them to support you because they don't necessarily understand. So you don't have that foundation and you're simultaneously trying to create it while you're building out the new paradigm that you envision. So, cultivating a personal ecosystem becomes essential if you're going to do this in a way that's healthy. You need the right conditions and you need support, you need nourishment, you need resilience, and you need to now feel bad about the fact that you need these things. And sometimes when you can't get it,
00:08:06
Speaker
You need to create it for yourself in the form of rest, of sometimes to a certain extent, isolation, of separating yourself out in order to give yourself the space for whatever it is that you need. Oftentimes, some types of solo activities can feel extremely nourishing. I spent the morning preparing food and food for myself. I wasn't cooking for anybody else and I wasn't even cooking. I was preparing it.
00:08:28
Speaker
I was making a marinade and I was putting my food in it and I was thinking about some snacks that I wanted to make. And so I'm marinating some tempeh and this wonderful Asian sauce that I created because I want to have these nourishing moments that fill me up without me having to explain the status quo or lean on somebody else. So you need to find these types of things, this personal ecosystem to continue your work without burning out or even losing faith in yourself. So I have no plans here to tell you that you have to fit in or convince others about the world that you see and so that they see things your way because that's that's not going to happen, by the way. It's just it's just not going to happen. If anything, I think the real strength that you have is in recognizing that having alternative views isn't a flaw, but it's a sign that you're kind of ahead.
00:09:19
Speaker
that And ahead does not mean hierarchical ahead. Ahead just means on a timeline perspective, if we think about time as a linear piece, which by the way, it's not. But let's just let's just say that for this, because if not, that gets really complicated. It just means that you're a few steps beyond where most people are.
00:09:39
Speaker
And so that curve still needs your views to somehow connect to where the others are. You can't just move ahead and forget about everybody else, because that would be really, really lonely. But not just lonely. You don't have any feedback mechanism. You don't have any way of knowing of what you're constructing is going, taking you really where you want to go.
Innovating New Models Over Fighting Existing Ones
00:09:59
Speaker
You have to think about it. I think about it in the way that Buckminster Fuller said. He said, you never change things by fighting the existing reality.
00:10:07
Speaker
To change something, you need to build a new model that makes everything. Basically, it makes everything in the existing model obsolete. And that's really what you are. When you're thinking in an alternative way to the way the people around you are, that's exactly where you are. You're inside of a different paradigm.
00:10:25
Speaker
And what you're trying to do is make the other paradigm obsolete so that people understand that they need to evolve into it. So pioneer species don't wait for permission to take root, nor do they try to fit into the existing landscape. They create the conditions they need in order to thrive. And if they do it right, they also create conditions for other species to evolve into this new paradigm ecosystem.
00:10:49
Speaker
No mind you it's not your responsibility to pull other species in it's more like a gentle nudge you have to just create those conditions so by the end of this episode i really want you to feel like a sense of belonging not because you're forced yourself into somebody else's mold we've talked about that you can find previous episodes where i got but into that But because you've seen how nature makes space for those who walk a different path, I want you to feel confident in the way that you think, more at ease with the rhythm that you have, that unique way of expressing and experiencing things, and more inspired to cultivate an ecosystem of support that embraces you as who you are, exactly the way you are.
00:11:32
Speaker
So let's begin by looking at how pioneer species plants, pioneer species, in this case, plants, sometimes I speak too fast, thrive in overlooked or um disrupted, and that's probably the best kind of environment that I can talk
Ecological Innovations and Charity Efforts
00:11:48
Speaker
of. And they teach us how to carve out our own place in the world, even if it feels like we don't belong at all. But first, before we get into that, I want to invite you to connect to one of my eco-conscious business partners, because these are the pioneers of their particular businesses. Hey there, did you know that regular toilet paper wipes out 27,000 trees a day? It's time to make a change. And so I want to introduce to you who gives a crap, ecological toilet paper that's as good for the planet as it is for your bum. Look, billions of people don't have access to a toilet, yet more people have a mobile phone than this basic necessity.
00:12:31
Speaker
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00:12:48
Speaker
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00:13:04
Speaker
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00:13:21
Speaker
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00:13:50
Speaker
So here's a question for you. Have you ever shared an idea, one that you felt so sure about, right? You had this this boom of inspiration that came only to be met with blank stares.
00:14:03
Speaker
skepticism, because that's a big one that comes in, or sometimes hostile resistance, because I know that I grew up mainly with the hostile resistance part, but that was because my presentation really sucked. i Man, I spent so many years of my life being presumptuous, or at least the way I spoke sounded presumptuous. I wasn't presumptuous. I was full with all kinds of doubt and stuff, but I was very value driven and therefore I sounded presumptuous, but that's another story.
00:14:29
Speaker
I've talked about it a bunch of times and I probably will talk about it a bunch of times since it is such a formative part of my experience. But when you when you have this great idea and you can see this vision, I was just in a meeting um yesterday where I was laying out with another person that we're in a group working on something and we're trying to lay out a big change here at Dom and Her. It's going to be very, very big. And for me, the vision of it is so clear. Like I can see the whole piece. I can see five to seven years in advance. I understand it's going to take time and we have to create the limits, but I can see what it's going to look like when the whole thing comes online.
00:15:07
Speaker
And I had somebody in the room, he was like, could not see it. he was He was just so stuck on where we are today, so stuck on the fact of the problems that we have today that he could not even give space. He was like, well, that's, you know, what about this situation? We were like, that situation won't exist in the future because when I because what we're doing will completely change the path to bypass that situation from ever happening. But he was like, yes, but it doesn't solve the need. I'm like, of course it doesn't solve the need because we don't need to solve the need. We've created the need won't happen. But he just couldn't get there. He couldn't see the big picture. It's super frustrating. It's super frustrating.
00:15:48
Speaker
You can see the bigger picture so clearly, but no matter how much you explain, it just doesn't land. And if that's something that you've experienced, trust me, you're not alone. Feeling like an outlier isn't necessarily a sign that you're wrong. We weren't wrong in our vision. As a matter of fact, I wasn't wrong because I think I hold. No, that's not true. There's two of us that can hold the bigger vision in that. And then there's two other people in my group who are like really good at just kind of helping us see where the holes are. And so that's why we worked really well together. But the thing was that I have to accept that I'm ahead of the curve. Therefore, I have to explain things in a different way. I can't just lay it out and expect somebody to understand it. Being ahead of the curve means that you perceive connections and possibilities before others do. It might just show up as seeing ah the flaws in a plan before somebody else notices or having an intuitive sense of where things are heading because
00:16:43
Speaker
you can understand where the energy is pushing you. Or sometimes you instinctively know a better way forward, even when there's no proof, because you can see connections that others can't see. So for the longest time personally, I question myself when this happened. I would wonder, am I just being difficult because I'm explaining it or seeing it in a different way?
Trusting Your Unique Vision
00:17:05
Speaker
Am I wrong because others can't get there, so therefore it must not be logical?
00:17:10
Speaker
But working with the plants really changed my perspective of this. Now, im ah a quick aside, I'm a projector in human design. I don't know how much you know about human design. Human design, similar to astrology and other formats, basically based on your birthday, imprint on you and certain aspects of you. I am a projector. So this means that as a projector, I have this natural ability to see long-term patterns before the puzzle pieces even exist for others in other words they can't even see the pieces that connect together to create the place where i'm going when do i discovered this only about. Five or six years ago ah as a matter of fact i remember being in a meeting with somebody who was.
00:17:52
Speaker
telling me and there was ah a possibility of ah of a role here at Dom and her. And the person was like, I can't put you in that role. And I was like, why? I'm perfect for it. And he's like, because you're 10 years ahead of everybody else. They can't catch up. They can't understand. So I thought it was a flaw to be that far in a man. I struggled with the disconnect. How do you explain to somebody something that's outside of what they could even conceptualize?
00:18:16
Speaker
And that's when the plants really kind of tapped me on the shoulder and was like, ah you're looking at this wrong. They showed me that my role isn't to force people to see what I see. I don't need somebody to see my vision, to validate my vision. What I need to do is build the bridge that has the pieces and the steps that they need to take that they feel safe crossing. In other words, creativity, for me, that was Is is kind of like in creating a bridge that looks exciting and looks interesting and looks like it could lead somewhere without them even needing to know exactly where it's gonna be leading.
00:18:53
Speaker
So you need to think about, to a certain extent, how you express your own visionary ideas. Maybe you paint and you draw people a picture of something that they can't really understand, but they can feel. Or maybe you write a beautiful story that takes them on a ride in order for them to conceptualize. Or you make music, you have them. It's usually an emotional translation because you can't get them to see the connections yet. So they need to feel into it.
00:19:21
Speaker
translating concepts into something other than what it is, but rather into what they feel so that they can understand their feelings. Now, they might not be able to put words to it. That's why I said they can't pat you on the back and support you and say, yes, you're doing a great job because they're not there yet. But they can kind of buy into it because they feel like it's good.
00:19:41
Speaker
And this is also a way to help them when they feel overwhelmed, right? They don't need to know all these things and be afraid of so many changes that are happening. They can kind of sink into the feeling that, oh, this feels good and this feels safe. And for some, that's the perfect way of doing it. For others, you're going to instead remove obstacles so that when people feel ready, the path is clear. So in other words, you're not even going to worry about the person in and of itself and bringing them on board.
00:20:08
Speaker
You're going to be working on the new space and slowly but surely you're chipping away at what might cost obstacles for them to do it. There are all sorts of creative ways for you to ease others into unfamiliar futures. The thing to remember is that your future, just because they can't understand it, doesn't mean that anything's wrong. Plants do this all the time. You know, if you think about what's called an ecotone or an ecological edge, right? The place where two ecosystems meet.
00:20:36
Speaker
and something entirely new emerges. This is where the the the species that are most constantly changing emerge from or where they thrive in. These are liminal spaces, and that's why these plants and these kinds of um beings of all sorts and organisms are called pioneer species. These pioneer species don't wait for permission. They move into the unknown,
00:21:00
Speaker
reshaping the landscape as they go, because again, two spaces, ah water and land or, you know, a rainforest hitting across to a prairie, like all of these types of edges have all kinds of conditions that are hard for you to imagine because you have two landscapes or two ecosystems that are butting up against each other and you don't know what's going to come from it.
00:21:24
Speaker
so These types of pioneer species move into these unknown spaces, reshaping the landscape as they go. They don't ask permission for it. They don't try to bring others on board. They just make small modifications in order for more of them to be able to thrive. And in doing so, they create the conditions for others to follow.
00:21:45
Speaker
So your alternative way of looking at things, your alternative way of doing things is not wrong. It's just ahead of them, and therefore you're creating conditions for new things to happen. So here's the question for you. How do you stay steady? How do you trust in yourself when others don't see when you see? that That's probably the hardest part, right? People are all around you. You want to bring them on board, but they can't see the things you see. So let's just do a quick check-in.
00:22:14
Speaker
I want you to think of a time when you trusted your vision, even when no one else could see it yet. So you had this idea, you had a vision for something, it might have been for a business, it might have been for a new direction for your company, it might have been for a ah new home that nobody can understand how you could get to. I want you to sort of tap into that that sense of, oh, I know this, and I want you to think about how it felt.
00:22:41
Speaker
and I want you to understand like when you feel that, imagine what it would be like to embrace that role as a bridge builder rather than trying to convince others to see what you see. When you feel that, when you trust in yourself, and instead of trying to bring others on board to it to convince them of it, you just accept that you've been given this vision because you know how to make it work and that the pieces are going to fall in place based on the actions that you take. What shifts in you? Like how do you step into that feeling even deeper starting from that place of personal trust? And another question that you might ask yourself is what's one way you can use your creativity to make your vision feel even safer for yourself and for others? In other words, you might not
00:23:29
Speaker
tell anybody that you see the vision for a new direction for the company, but you might have commissioned a painting or paint it yourself of something that looks like that new vision or instills the the feelings of that new direction without telling anybody and just put it in the office. You know, how do you make it more accessible to those who aren't there yet, making it something that they can connect into without necessarily going into the details?
00:23:57
Speaker
So these are kind of some of the ways that you can play with and express and know that you are being a leader. You are leading people, even if you're not pulling them or showing them directly. So to make this a little bit easier to understand, I want to talk about how pioneer species show us what it takes to thrive when you're the first to step into an unknown space.
00:24:21
Speaker
Now, if you're someone who sees beyond that present reality, right, you're not just ahead of the curve. Like I said, you are a pioneer, and pioneer species are specific types of species that exist in the natural world. Being a pioneer can be lonely, can be unpredictable. No, it is unpredictable, period.
00:24:40
Speaker
and And like I said, sometimes exhausting because you're putting a lot of energy and you don't have a lot of support systems necessarily. But you really are in good company. you know there are you know Pioneer species are actually the ones that change the environment. They make it possible for another. So what is a pioneer species? A pioneer species is the first life form that establishes itself or themselves in an area where conditions are too extreme for most others to survive.
Pioneer Species and Creating New Conditions
00:25:07
Speaker
So these are the organisms that arrive in what we consider to be a barren landscape. So after a volcanic ah eruption, for example, or a wildfire, or landslides, or maybe you had, I don't know, a glacier that retreated back and all of a sudden you have this barren ground.
00:25:25
Speaker
So the soil usually is poor. The climate is unforgiving, either relentless sun or super cold. There's no protection from the climate. And there's little organic, sometimes no organic matter that will sustain life ah as we know it, right?
00:25:43
Speaker
So instead of waiting for these conditions to change on their own, because they can't, pioneer species create the conditions that they need in order to create the reality they want to. They stabilize the soil, they add nutrients, they provide shelter, they prepare for the foundation of future ecosystems that need to take root. And the remarkable thing is that a pioneer species, and listen up to this one, because this is an important fact for you,
00:26:10
Speaker
Pioneer species don't stay forever. Now, here is one of those things that most of us that are ahead of the curve forget. The role of a pioneer species is to shift the landscape from barren to fertile. In other words, to bring about that an idea or a principle becomes, goes from impossible to even imagine to something that is conceivable and maybe is even starting to be created, knowing, knowing, this is important, that in time they're going to be replaced by the next wave of life.
00:26:46
Speaker
It's like the architect that knows the that the architect in the sense of building architect knows that the construction workers are gonna come after them and that the architect is going to kind of make sure that the vision for the building comes into effect, but the actual construction of that building is going to be done by somebody else. And that's really their gift. They don't cling to the permanence of staying on the project. They embrace evolution because they're already thinking of the next thing.
00:27:14
Speaker
So, for example, one of the most iconic pioneer species, one that's really beautiful and I love so much, although my absolute favorite is a pine tree, just so you know. So simple, so elegant, so amazing. Anyway, but another one that I really enjoy is fireweed. Fireweed is this bright, magenta wildflower. Go look it up if you've never seen it. They thrive in recently disturbed landscapes. It's often the first So they are often the first plants to return after a wildfire. They carpet the entire scorched earth in this beautiful magenta color. But the thing is that fireweed isn't just beautiful. Fireweed is a healer. Key has these deep roots that go into the soil and stabilize what's happening. They prevent erosion and they draw up all these nutrients from deep in the subsoil where many other plants can't reach,
00:28:11
Speaker
making them accessible to the next wave of plants that are going to come. They also kind of cover what's happening. They cover the earth from the sun because everything else has been burned away. And so they create, as they're growing, an area that attracts pollen pollinators because, again, you have this beautiful magenta flower. They bring life back into the landscape that seemed really lifeless.
00:28:35
Speaker
And the thing is that fireweed doesn't need conditions to be perfect because that's the whole point. Fireweed comes in and thrives where others would wither.
00:28:46
Speaker
the Fireweed is the type of plant that comes in when there's no one else to cover, there's no one else to protect. Fireweed trusts that what key is there to do can be done. And key teaches us that the most difficult, desolate places are often the very spaces where transformation is most needed, because that's the whole point. They're barren. They've been eviscerated in some ways, and so they can't wait for somebody to plant them. They can't wait for somebody to create some kind of shelter around them. They need to get in there and move things. And if fireweed is the healer, then lichens, which most of us know, are the architects of the New World. And that's another reason why they're one of my absolute favorite species.
00:29:32
Speaker
Unlike plants, lichens are actually a symbiotic collaboration between fungi and algae, and sometimes also cyanobacteria. And so this is a great example of the fact that you don't need to be out there by yourself, right?
00:29:46
Speaker
lichen are already in a symbiosis with other beings, all these beings together to create the lichen, showing us that you can have structure and protection as even a group. So while the algae or bacteria perform the photosynthesis, they generate that energy, you have the fungus that is the structure and the protection, and so they work together. And together they do this thing that's super extraordinary. They colonize bare rock. They break down the first layers.
00:30:16
Speaker
of the rock in order to create soil and from that soil then that's when other beings can start to emerge. So lichens don't really need an external nourishment because they create that and so you have to think about it that sometimes you're going to create a partnership with somebody where you nourish each other.
00:30:35
Speaker
You're what you have for one another. And over time, their slow but relentless breakdown of stone releases minerals, forming the first hints of fertile ground. Without them, many ecosystems would never even have the foundations that they need to exist. And here's a super powerful lesson. Lichens thrive through collaboration.
00:30:55
Speaker
right alone, neither the fungus nor the algae could survive in these conditions. They find each other, they have the same goals, and then with different capabilities, and so they partner together to form something that's greater than the sum of their parts, something that's capable of reshaping the landscape. So What does all this mean for you? if If you've ever felt like your ideas are ahead of their time or maybe not understandable by others, they can't see your vision, or that you're stepping into places where no one else understands what you're talking about, then you're most likely a type of pioneer species. And this is probably also why you start things.
00:31:38
Speaker
then you think you never finish them. You think you start them, you open them, you create the environment, and then you abandon them. And yes, to a certain extent, that is true, but it's by design. You aren't just there to exist within the current paradigm or to even maintain that paradigm. You are there not to see it fully come into being. You're there to change the condition so that the new ideas, the new project, the new possibilities take root.
00:32:09
Speaker
Like fireweed, you might be stepping into spaces that feel desolate or where there's old ways that have collapsed and they're no longer working. Or maybe like lichen, you might be creating the nourishment because there's just barren soil, like barren rock. You're hitting up against a rock and that others think are immovable, and you know that you can claw at it that you can come in and break that down and create soil that others one day will depend on.
00:32:40
Speaker
And to be honest, it's a thankless job. The truth of the matter is that sure, there are those visionaries that that get credit, but most visionaries get no credit whatsoever because people can't see the vision. And so they just quietly work on it until it becomes, and then one day you realize you have it and you didn't even know. The whole idea that all of a sudden something, I mean, if you think about the internet in general, as a person who's been working in the internet since before the World Wide Web,
00:33:10
Speaker
or the the the visual piece that you see was really a thing? I can tell you this much. None of us know the names of the scientists that really and all of the different engineers that worked on the original ARPANET and all that is the base of the internet that we use today. Very few people know the names. Sure, we know the Steve Jobs and we know the Bill Gates. We know those folks that kind of came on the scene and made something visual.
00:33:35
Speaker
But all of that infrastructure, all of that foundation, all of that part that's below there, we don't know their names. And just like these people, you as a species,
00:33:46
Speaker
might be one of those that just quietly creates things and moves on to the next. So whether you collaborate on it like a lichen or simply hold the space for what's coming next, you're shifting the landscape in ways that might not always be visible, yet they are crucial if we are going to continue to evolve.
00:34:07
Speaker
So of course, being a pioneer species comes with its challenges. The conditions are tough. The path is uncertain. You don't always get to see the full impact of your work. So how do you stay resilient in all of that? And that's where the next lesson from nature comes in.
00:34:24
Speaker
You need to cultivate a personal ecosystem. Just as a pioneer species sets the stage for future abundance, you can design an environment that supports your creativity, your vision, your well-being.
Building Supportive Systems for Creativity
00:34:37
Speaker
These are the things that you really need to put in place. So I've talked about what it means to be a pioneer thinker, someone who sees the possibilities before others.
00:34:46
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who creates the conditions for new ideas to take root. so and We've explored how fireweed and lichen, for example, embody the spirit. Moving into spaces that seem barren and uninhabitable and transform them into something where life can thrive. But being a pioneer species isn't about carving out new ground only.
00:35:05
Speaker
It's also about learning how to sustain yourself in that space. Because let's be honest, being the first to step into an unknown can be super isolating, can be lonely, not just alone, but literally lonely. It can feel like you're speaking a language that nobody else understands. And this is why cultivating a personal ecosystem becomes essential. You've heard me talk about this over and over again.
00:35:31
Speaker
We talked about it in the last episode with the various types of relationships you need to have. You need the right conditions, support, nourishment, in order for you to be resilient, to continue to your work without burning out or without losing faith.
00:35:47
Speaker
And so if you're going to thrive as a pioneer thinker, as an alternative visionary, you need to create an ecosystem around you that supports you, even if they don't understand you. My mother loves me. My brother loves me. They don't understand my work.
00:36:03
Speaker
They don't understand my message really. They don't get how I do things. I have had friends and partners who have loved me, but they haven't been able to understand what drives my passion and where it is that I'm taking it. They can see what I'm doing and they can admire it, but they don't know how to be there right next to me working with me.
00:36:26
Speaker
And that starts with understanding how pioneers don't just survive in harsh environments, they evolve them into places for life to take root, right? So creating that means that somebody else can't just come in and do it alongside of you. Sometimes you get lucky and you find that kind of partner, right? That kind of partner, whether you're talking about a romantic partner or a business partner, is amazing. It's amazing, but it doesn't always happen.
00:36:51
Speaker
right Like I said, my mother loves me, my mother supports me, but she doesn't know how to support me because she doesn't understand my vision. She she can't put herself in there. So if you think about fireweed, Key doesn't just show up after a wildfire and endure the destruction. Key actively repairs that land, and that's not something everybody can do.
00:37:10
Speaker
Key holds the soil in place, preventing that erosion, making sure that things don't you know move away. Key's deep roots draws up those nutrients that will nourish the next wave of plant life. Firewood doesn't compete with the towering trees that are going to come later. When the trees come, Firewood prepares the space for them to exist, remains long enough to ensure that the next generation has what they need to go on, and then goes away.
00:37:36
Speaker
The same goes for lichen. Lichen is not just breaking down rock rock for key self. Key is laying the foundation for a entire ecosystems. And key does this through this partnership. like Lichen's not a single organism, but a collaboration between fungi and algae. And so working together, they create something that neither could do alone. But even then, the lichen knows that they have a job to do and that they're doing this and they're creating something new, and then they're going to move on.
00:38:05
Speaker
They're going to move the minerals into locations that can be used by others. And this is where that shift really happens. Pioneer species don't try to fit into an and existing ecosystem. They build their ecosystem. And that's exactly what visionary thinkers like you need to do.
00:38:23
Speaker
Instead of trying to force yourself into a system that doesn't support you, cultivate your own ecosystem, one that nourishes your ideas, your creativity, your unique way of thinking. Pull from different elements of different people to be supported, even if not one of them can understand the whole vision. Look, it's beautiful to have people around you where you can banter back and forth and they can see everything that you are.
00:38:47
Speaker
But us multi-potentialites don't always have that. We have pieces of it in many different kinds of people, many different kinds of experiences. And sometimes, some of it, it's just in yourself. I often sit down and like draw out entire diagrams. I can see things. I can't explain them to others. I know that they're real because they come up over time. And over time, that piece of paper becomes a roadmap. And I'm like, yes. But that also takes time.
00:39:17
Speaker
So your creativity, your unique way of thinking is what is going to propel you forward. You look for other organisms like you on the cutting edge who maybe want to travel into the unknown with the desire to create something from nothing, even if they don't understand your vision. Or maybe they just understand your process, but they can't see where you're going to. So they trust in you. So pioneer species Another thing to kind of know about them is that they're not always welcomed. I'm sure you have had plenty of times where people have thought that your ideas are just sheer madness. If you're lucky, they just don't understand, but at worse, they think you're dangerous or you need to be stopped. And that's where kind of you can think about yourself in the weed metaphor, right? People often see weeds as invasive, right? As a problem to be eliminated.
00:40:05
Speaker
Yet, what are weeds actually doing? They're stabilizing soil in places where other plants struggle to grow. They're drawing up nutrients from deep within the earth. Are you seeing a pattern here? Are you seeing a pattern here? They attract beneficial insects and restore balance. Yet, because they don't fit into these neat little cultivated gardens, people dismiss them until they don't realize how much they really need them.
00:40:31
Speaker
So how many times have you felt like that, that like you were too much, you were too different, too disruptive, like your ideas weren't welcome? If so, you are not alone. Okay, you are not alone.
00:40:45
Speaker
This is important for you to recognize. Think about dandelions, one of the most resilient plants on the planet.
Dandelions: Symbols of Resilience
00:40:52
Speaker
And people have been trying to get rid of them for centuries, yet they keep coming back because dandelions know all the benefits that dandelions provide. And they're wise ones.
00:41:03
Speaker
And so therefore, slowly they're convincing humans around the world that the spirit of plant is necessary in order to heal and support. But, you know, some people still go after them with weed killer. It's just part of what happens.
00:41:16
Speaker
so Trust me, at some point, people are going to get it. It's just going to take time. So how do you make sure you don't wither under the pressure? How do you stay strong and keep growing when others don't yet see the value of what you're doing? You cultivate an ecosystem around you that supports you. You find your network. but You find your collaborators. You recognize the role that you have so that your own sense of worth comes from inside.
00:41:44
Speaker
You create conditions that you need. In all of this, it's really important for you to check in with yourself and also with others because, you know, getting ah different points of views are also useful. You know, we're human, after all, which means we have blind spots. It never hurts to listen to the feedback of others just to hear how they're experiencing it. And not all negative feedback, remember, is based on, you know, even if it's based on incomprehension or even fear is not all bad. Sometimes it can help us.
00:42:14
Speaker
right Sometimes it could help us grow, it can show us directions that we might not have seen, it could put connections together in a different way. So cultivating your own intuition means listening to feedback openly with the idea that there is always something that you can learn in what others say. And that's why partial feedback of many different people, because again, nobody will see your whole vision, is actually really useful. It's the idea that you can create a safe space to receive feedback, to receive even the fears and hold that, and you can transform that into what needs to be done. Because that's the way that you learn. You don't have to take what they say at face value, but it never, never hurts to sit with the feedback just to see how it lands on your body. Trust yourself. Trust that you can receive all kinds of information and know where to go. In Damanhur, we have this thing called the kwaziti. They're the eight steps to enlightenment, which can also be the eight metaphorical steps from project beginning to reproduction. The quizzes are amazing. One day I'll do an entire episode just on that. But the seventh step, right before that you finalize what you've created and begin to teach it or reproduce it, is always doubt. That moment when you ask yourself, is this really the right direction? Because it takes a strong, capable person to allow for the idea that you could be wrong. And doing so, so doing a double check is really
00:43:39
Speaker
useful in this case. It's always great to come with curiosity that says, could I do it differently? Could I do it better? Could I do it another way? Not to paralyze yourself or to look for perfection, but just so that you know, even if you might decide, well, I could, but I think that this is the best I could do right now because that requires other things that I don't have.
00:43:59
Speaker
So really lean on the doubt and take for your personal ecosystem, the feedback of others, as well as the partial support that you're going to get, because again, not everyone can see your entire vision. Allow yourself to receive, even if that reception comes in small doses, because it all adds up. And that's where you build the resilience for you to be on that cutting edge. Look, being a pioneer,
00:44:28
Speaker
means trusting that the work you're doing has value even if others don't see it. It means standing firm in your vision when the world tells you to conform, knowing that one day what you've been cultivating will take root in ways that others could never imagine.
Adaptation and Self-Created Belonging
00:44:44
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So like pioneer species, you weren't meant to fit into existing landscapes.
00:44:49
Speaker
You're meant to reshape them. Fireweed doesn't wait for permission to grow after after a devastation. Lichen doesn't seek the approval before breaking down rock into fertile soil. They create the conditions for new life to emerge.
00:45:05
Speaker
They do what it takes in order to move evolution forward. And so can you. But carving out a space in the world isn't just about endurance. It's about thriving. It's about cultivating an ecosystem that supports the way that you think. Surrounding yourself with the right people, the right environments, the right practices that nourish you your creativity rather than stifle it. You don't have to do this alone. Even the most resilient pioneers form alliances, whether it's fungi and algae that creates lichen or the deep-rooted networks of so-called weeds that regenerate the soil. So if your if you've ever, ever, ever felt like a black sheep misunderstood and out of place, know this.
00:45:49
Speaker
Your difference is not a flaw. It's your function. You are not here to follow these well-worn paths that everybody has been passing. You're here to forge a new ones. And so putting this into practice takes time. You've been conditioned to believe that blending in is safety and that standing out is risky, but nature teaches us adaptation, not conformity.
00:46:16
Speaker
It's what leads to true belonging. So as you continue to grow, create a space for yourself in a world that may not always understand you. And here are some questions you might want to reflect on. What environments or relationships allow you to thrive as your full self without needing to shrink or conform? What are the elements? How are they described? What do they feel like? And where have you been waiting for permission to take up space? And how can you begin creating those conditions instead of asking for someone to provide them for you?
00:46:46
Speaker
And more importantly, what small ways can you start forming your personal ecosystem? One that supports and strengthens your vision, that allows you to be supported even if you're not understood. Look, the world needs its pioneers, the ones who think differently, see possibilities where others see obstacles, and create paths where none existed before. The question isn't whether you belong, it's how you create the belonging you need.
00:47:13
Speaker
So if you've ever felt like an outsider, like your ideas don't fit into the mainstream, know that I'm here for you, that our entire ecosystem of the naturally conscious community is here for you. The path of a pioneer can be lonely.
00:47:26
Speaker
but That's exactly why the Naturally Conscious Community exists, to offer a space where visionary thinkers like you can connect, be understood, and thrive alongside others who see the world differently. If this episode of wreck could resonated with you, don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe by sharing these ideas you're helping to create a world where those of us who think differently don't have to do it alone.
00:47:49
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you for being here. We're really in this together, learning from nature and each other as we shape the world to make space for all the ways of growing. And if you're craving a deeper support in creating an ecosystem that nurtures your unique way of thinking, I'd love to work with you one-on-one.
00:48:06
Speaker
As a life coach, I help alternative thinkers like you break free from limiting expectations, embrace your natural ways of growing and cultivate the relationships and environments that truly support you personally and professionally. Set up a discovery call from the link in the show notes. I can't wait to work on this with you. So that's it for this episode. Remember, resist the urge to hold back your emerging green brilliance.
Joining the Naturally Conscious Community
00:48:31
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Reconnect with Plant Wisdom. To continue these conversations, join us in the Naturally Conscious Community, your premier online ecosystem for plant reawakening and accelerated evolution and co-creation with other kin. Here, you'll find expansive discussions, interactive courses, live events, and supportive group programs like the Plant Wisdom Book Club and the Sprouts Writing and Creativity Group.
00:48:55
Speaker
Connect with like-minded individuals collaborating with plants to integrate these insights into life. Intro and Outro Music by Steve Schulie and Poinsettia from the Singing Life of Plants. That's it for me, Tigray Gardenia, and my plant collaborators. Until next time, remember, resist the urge to hold back your emerging green brilliance. I'm out. Bye!