The Hidden Power of Nature | Belonging, Identity and Healing

The Belonging Podcast by Elev8 Villages | Frankie Edwards | Episode 21

What happens when humans lose connection with their body, nature, community, and their true sense of belonging?

In this deeply emotional and inspiring episode of the Belonging Podcast by Elev8 Villages, host Melissa Kaye sits down with Frankie Edwards, a nature-based nervous system specialist and founder of Abundance World.

Frankie shares their powerful journey growing up in Newfoundland, navigating identity, belonging, elite athletics, grief, concussions, healing, nervous system regulation, and reconnecting with nature. This conversation explores how modern life disconnects us from ourselves and why returning to community, embodiment, mindfulness, and the natural world may be one of the most important forms of healing today.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

- The true meaning of belonging
- How nature calms the nervous system
- Forest bathing and mindfulness practices
- Healing trauma through embodiment
- The emotional impact of losing identity
- Queer identity, authenticity, and community
- Why humans crave connection and safety
- The science behind awe, grounding, and mental health
- How nature creates emotional regulation
- Powerful reflections on healing and self-acceptance

Frankie also shares practical ways to reconnect with yourself through nature, water rituals, grounding practices, and mindfulness techniques that anyone can start today.

Follow Frankie:

IG https://www.instagram.com/thefrankchapter/ and
TIKTOK https://www.tiktok.com/@abundance_world
website: https://abundanceworld.today/

If you’ve ever felt disconnected, unseen, overwhelmed, or out of place, this conversation offers hope, healing, and a reminder that you belong.

🌿 Watch until the end for one simple daily practice that can help restore inner peace and emotional grounding.

Learn More About Elev8 Villages:
Website: https://www.elev8villages.org/
Download your FREE Belonging Kit: https://www.elev8villages.org/FREEkit

💭 If this episode inspires you, don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE!

#belonging #naturehealing #mentalhealth #forestbathing #mindfulness #healingjourney #podcast  #nervoussystemhealing #selfhealing #communityhealing #foryou

This podcast exists because we believe belonging is not a luxury. It’s a human need. Every story shared here helps us imagine a world where no one has to walk alone. 

If this conversation resonated with you, please follow, rate, or share the show with someone who might need it today. To learn more about the movement we’re building (or to get involved) visit Elev8Villages.org.

Thank you for joining us for this episode of The Belonging Podcast by Elev8 Villages - where belonging becomes a place we build together. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Belonging Podcast by Elevate Villages. I'm your host, Melissa Kaye. Our guest today is exploring what happens to humans when they become disconnected from their body, the land, community, and ultimately their inherent sense of belonging. Frankie Edwards is a nature-based nervous system specialist and the founder of Abundance World. Their work centers on regulating stress and restoring a sense of belonging through weaving together neuroscience, somatics, and forest bathing. Frankie, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Hi, Melissa. Thank you so much for having me. It's so good to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

I'm so excited for our conversation today. And what I'd like to start with is something, although I've known you for a couple years in community, I have not known you very much on a personal level, and I don't know your story. I know that elite athletics are part of it and going into a time of grief. Do you feel comfortable sharing that part of your life with us as we get going?

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Sure, yeah. No problem at all. So I grew up in the middle of nowhere on a very small island called Newfoundland in the northeast part of Canada, like right out in the Atlantic. And I grew up knowing the boreal forests, the moss, a lot of rain, a lot of wind, a lot of fog. And that definitely, definitely contributes to the warmth that continued on in my heart. And that I think, you know, the people that I grew up with and the people where I come from really have that deep, deep warmth in their hearts. And, you know, we always joke and say like the ocean runs in our veins and we're cold-blooded and whatnot. But it's really, really something like people are really kind and they'll give you the shorts off their backs. Something like similar to the South, you know, just like invite you in for tea, like make a barbecue, whatever you need, you got it. Like if you're stranded, you're here with us. And it's part of, I think it's part and parcel to how I grew up. And the neighbors, you know, if you need something, you just go there and grab some eggs or that kind of thing. And it really was that kind of sweet spot in time when the internet wasn't really a big thing just yet. And you still had kids running and cycling around the community and like showing up at your door and asking if you could come play and that kind of thing. So that's really where I come from. And I grew up in that. Um, and of course, like midway through my 20s, I moved here to Toronto, where I still live. And of course, being in a in a you know, Canada's biggest city, that was a huge culture shock for me coming from a place where you open your door and people are saying hello to you, you know, and they not only know your middle name, they also know what you ate for dinner last night and when your cousin's coming to visit.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

I mean, it sounds like you very much grew up in like what I would refer to as a village. Like Yeah, it definitely was a village. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Yeah. And so there's a part of that where, you know, where I I hold that in my heart very dearly. And I also wanted to get out of it as soon as I could when I was younger. You know, I actually felt a lot of shame around who I was and the cultural, like the Celtic music where I come from. And it kind of, I think, stemmed from a lot of the Irish immigration that happened and people really turning the other leaf and not wanting to look back at a sad reality that, you know, and this is why Irish people are all around the world, especially in Newfoundland where I'm from. And so I come from all of that, and I think I inherited pieces of that shame and guilt and not wanting to talk about things out loud and all of that. And then yet I still have this really keen village sense of belonging. And even being now in Toronto, it's something that's yeah, stuck with me for a long time. And I've, of course, I've done a lot of healing around the uh scarcity and the lack mindset and who I am as a person and that kind of thing. So we'll we'll get into that. But yeah, it all kind of stems back into this feeling of belonging and like where am I now and in space. Um, I really took for granted how much nature was just part of my life growing up. And now being in a big city and not having, you know, the the backyard tree that I called home or the apple tree, just like any of those things that really have like a way to ground you in space and time. Here in Toronto, the biggest landmark is the sea and tower, which is hilarious and awesome for a lot of people. And I still am in awe of it when I see it. But it's not like a natural landmark. You know, there's no big mountain nearby. What is nearby is the lake. And so that connects me back to water, back to ocean. Um going forward, of course, like we can talk more about career stuff. But yeah, I grew up playing very competitive high-level soccer in a way that was my ticket out of this place that I envisioned to be a place where I was trapped. Like I wanted to get out. My mind and my brain felt I was bigger than this. And now that I'm out in the world and big, and I'm like, oh, how can I return to my roots?

SPEAKER_00 5:33

So I'm almost hearing, tell me, um, correct me if I'm wrong, that while maybe inherently you did belong as you grew up, your like idea and your moving into the future felt like you didn't belong there. Like there's something else for me, something that pulled you away. And it wasn't until you got away that you could look back and go, oh wow. For those moments, I really felt like I belonged. Would that is there some truth in that?

SPEAKER_02 6:00

I would definitely say that. Yeah. And anyone who is listening to this can probably attest to that feeling of, yes, I feel really at home here. I feel really supported here, yet everyone that's here has been this way for a long time. And so there's a few things, especially being in the queer community, that like I really felt like I could not live up to the folks in my hometown's standards, quote unquote. If I came out, um, I would be very different. I would be shunned from the community. And so where else could I go that could accept me? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

So that sense of in like the belonging maybe was only felt at the surface because you didn't feel like you could truly be you. Like you had to hide who you were in order to stay in that system of belonging.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

You got it. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 6:55

Wow. Okay, so I wanna we'll probably circle back to that because I can imagine that. And is that you you had mentioned earlier about the shame. Was that around who you felt to be yourself or or didn't feel to be, or was that more related to your ancestry?

SPEAKER_02 7:12

That was actually more related to ancestry in general and feeling kind of like a mon minority in a lot of ways. I don't know um like how much folks know about like the Irish colonialism, but like Ireland was the first country to be colonized by England during their big wrath of colonization. And what do you do when you are trying to separate people from their culture and tradition? You go in there, you cut their trees down, you take away their food, their cultural food that they have, the language, all of that. And so there is this story that a lot of people tell about the potato famine, and that's why so many people left Ireland at the time. And there was waves, you know, separate, almost three or four separate waves of colonialism in Ireland. This sense of shame and this sense of like you're not good enough to even eat your own food, you know, you have to leave here. This land is nothing, you're nothing. And so that I think is really, really inherent in in a lot of Irish immigrants.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

So generationally, you had that on you. So then so did soccer, did that become the new place where you could feel belonging? It did, definitely. Tell us about soccer, tell us about that journey.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

Well, that actually stems from uh so my dad, I grew up in a really small town, and my dad is from a town even smaller, about half an hour drive north of that. And the town, for some reason, has like just given us and gifted us some really great soccer players over the years, like Team Canada and like these kinds of things. And so um, that kind of was in my blood, first generation soccer player, I guess. Um, and so I I actually kind of went into that hardcore and I was like, this is where I am. I'm an athlete, I can do this. And I excelled at it. And that was really, like you said, yeah, something that fell into my lap in a way. Of course, I worked really hard at it, but it was the place where I felt belonging. And team sports, a lot of athletes will say the same. When they stopped playing, and this was the case for me, I got several concussions and actually had to retire from competitive soccer. I totally lost my sense of identity. Completely, completely lost it. Like, who do I go to the gym with if I don't have a full team, you know, with me? And who am I competing against? Like, how am I measuring up? Like, who who are my people? Who will be there when I fall, you know, like who will I party with? All of these things when you're a a a teenager in an early 20s-something, you're really looking for that still because in a way I had moved out of my hometown. I lived in the capital city, which is a little bit bigger, and trained with my soccer team for like most of my teenage life. And so they were my people at the time.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

So having to retire from the sport and all that grief you felt of losing. I mean, that was your family then. Yeah. And that's where you belonged. So, how did you move? How did that season look? And how did you find your way out?

SPEAKER_02 10:25

First of all, yeah, I'll I'll backpedal and say, like, I was one of the only people that were from out of town, like the out-of-towners. Oh, wow. And so, like, again, that sense of like, oh, I know what it feels like to not be exactly the same as the other people on this team. And so what I would do, and I remember doing this, and people would make fun of me for it, like in a joking kind of way, chirpy way. Anyone who was ever new and who came to try out for the team, I would walk right up to them and be like, You're new, like what's your story? What can I do for you? How can I make you feel comfortable here? Because it's a stressful environment. You're trying out for a team, you know? And that was that was part of it, I think too, and just like knowing that because I had that experience, I could also do that for others.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Aw, so you became like a builder of belonging. You became that person to welcome people in.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

It was well practiced from the very beginning, Melissa. Yeah, it's so good. That's beautiful. And so, yeah, when I like I got several concussions, like I said, I really came back too early several times and then just kept getting jarred and elbowed in the head, or I would head the ball wrong. And uh, I would just like I I my doctor was like, You're half a concussion away from serious brain damage. Like, you need to stop. Oh, yes. And for me, that was like, why? This is my whole life. What am I gonna do? So I had to stop. I totally like for one, I was recovering from a brain injury, and so that was a whole other piece of the puzzle that I'd never explored before. I had several different practitioners that were working on me. I actually ended up getting post-concussion syndrome from six years afterwards. Oh, wow. All of that like contributed to just me understanding my place in the world. And uh at the same time, I was studying human kinetics. And in kinesiology, there's this understanding of theory, which is uh your proprioception. It's like your body in space, knowing where your body is in space.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

And it was so funny because that really I really latched onto that. And I was like, where am I in space at this point in time? All of that, like grieving who I was, I'm not an athlete anymore, moving through and trying to establish my own identity as something different while still having one foot in the soccer world. I was coaching still, I was bringing up the next best soccer players. Um and then, yeah, really trying to put the other foot in other circles and see where I felt at home. It's been a journey. It's definitely been a journey.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

That's so hard. And I think unconsciously, this might have been an area that we were connected with from the beginning. Now, while I did not play soccer, I played once and thought I was about to die because I couldn't stop running and I'm not a runner. And like it's just running, and then like combined running with trying to like kick a ball, like way too much for me. I ended up on the ballroom on the ballroom dance floor doing ballroom dancing for like 20 years. But within that, that was my community. That's where I belonged. I knew what was expected of me. I knew how to train, I knew who to coach with, and I got really good at the competition part of it. And so there's that intense level when you train at that level. That's truly such a beautiful place to belong because you're all going toward the same goal.

SPEAKER_02 13:45

Yeah. Yeah, it is. And you have you have a lot of structure in that, you know, like so much. Every meal is planned, you know, when exactly what you're doing when you wake up in the morning, you know, it's like I was so type A, and it's because I like was on a mission.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Yep. And it's a very definable goal, you know. Like if you don't train X amount of hours a day, if you're not doing this, if you're not keeping your body in shape, if you're not eating right, if you're not thinking right, like it's so whole body. It's not just being an athlete physically, but I feel like you become an athlete in your mind and your brain and your emotions. Like dancing, emotions are even negrated because you're telling story, along with being very athletic and doing it in duet with another human. Um but you had said something earlier. You said about seeing your body in space. Is that how you said it? Yeah, proprioception is called. That, what a great word. Um, and I think as a dancer in ballroom, when you're competing, you're competing with a lot of other couples on the floor in most cases. And so feeling yourself in space within your partner's space as well, and then knowing where everybody's at, but still needing to create. So ta talk to me a little bit more about your body and space. I'm really I'm really intrigued to hear a more intellectual view of it.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

Yeah. So, well, I went on to study. Obviously, I was in human kinetics. I learned a lot about biology, physiology, anatomy, you know, all that, and how the body really works in space and biomechanics. So, like, what pressure exerts, what force, and how much could you actually lift if your muscle was this tense and, you know, all these kinds of cool things. I really loved it. It was like body physics. Um and so I I went on to study that, and I was really interested in mindfulness and like the sport psychology aspect of it and self-awareness at that point. I went on to study some self-awareness courses and realized that proprioception is like the number one thing that you start to learn when you're learning how to meditate. Because self-awareness is really like where you are in space. And this feeling of, you know, okay, you're sitting on the mat. Where am I in space? What's moving as I breathe? How can I actually connect on a different level to the surface that my bum is sitting on, you know, or the surface where my feet are. And so I I really think that like a time in my life because I learned a lot about the actual physical body from a scientific lens, and academia is the way that it is, you know, lots of lots of studies, like lots of important research being done. And then this other side of the coin where I was like, oh, I actually am in this space, I am in this room. How much space do I take up? And being again coming out like pretty like early, like in my teens, but again, coming out when I was like in university, learning how much space that you take up when you're in group settings, and like how much am I talking or how much am I listening? And how much am I allowing other people to take up space? And it's really interesting, like it's all really relatable across industries almost from a sense of belonging, right? You like you actually can see, like, oh, this person is not uh self-aware, and they might be talking a lot and not letting others speak. So they're taking up, quote unquote, a lot of space in the room from a belonging perspective, really bringing that into every single interaction that you're you know, that you're in, and all all the peer groups or peer mentorship, bigger circles, healing circles, that kind of thing, you really get to know a little bit more about yourself in space.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Right. I'm curious now. Um I am way outside my notes at this point. So help me guide me if I'm really far off here. But I'm I would love to hear you talk about. So when we talk about somebody taking up too much space or somebody not taking up space, like I come in and I try to shrink myself as much as possible so I'm not in anybody's way or nobody notices me or nobody sees me because I don't feel safe. The opposite side being I have zero awareness of anyone else, zero awareness of anyone else or their needs, and I'm just talking all the time and I'm big and I'm loud. And um, those to me feel like the two extremes. And then somewhere in the middle is where we can truly be ourselves and welcome in others and work more as a whole in community rather than like separated from. So would you agree in that those two sides are like different? Um what's the word? Different ways where people don't belong. And so they're um they're showing up in one way or the other because there's like a some sort of deep sense of I don't belong here, or I'm I don't feel welcomed here. Like what what comes up for you when I'm sort of thinking about this out loud?

SPEAKER_02 19:16

Yeah, so like psychological safety really comes up for me in a sense of like am I able to open my mouth without fear of discrimination? Okay, um and that goes for workplaces, that goes for group settings, that goes for team settings, you name it, there's all kinds of ways anywhere where humans are are interacting together, that is happening. And then the other piece of it is that I I think of like taking up space in a in a really interesting way because so if you look at nature, for example, none of them like no species, no plant is like hesitant about blooming. In fact, if they don't bloom, then it throws off the rest of the cycle, right? And so in an ecosystem, say if I'm a flower and I don't bloom, and then I don't bring the pollinators, and the rest of the flowers don't get um seeded, and then everything goes to shit.

unknown 20:23

Right.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

Right, so we are in this space and time where we're kind of navigating an interesting reality where like if we speak up too much, we face a lot of backlash, right? If we are our true authentic self and we say what we feel and we say what we mean and we say what we believe and we stand up for that, a lot of people don't like that. And so going back to your point about being accepted or being part of this belonging or feeling of this village, oh, I won't say that. Like I might say a face instead of like saying what I really feel. And the there is a fine line, right? How do we interact in space without hurting people by being our true selves? And so this this feeling of like authenticity is like, okay, who can I be? Which permits me to be who I want to be in a way that's like amazing and awesome and like fully bloomed and nourished and allows others to do the same instead of pushing them down.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

Yeah, I mean, because certainly in nature there are like the predatory, um, you know, whether parasites or I know out here in in Texas, we have lots of like vines that will literally almost take over trees. Um and sometimes the vine wins and sometimes the tree wins, just from my observation. Um so I think as far as humans, we sort of get that too. Like people who are enabled to be, I'm gonna use the word bully, you know, like, oh, my way's the right way, and so now I can shame or Put somebody out so I can just belong with the people who look like me and think like me. And I'm not having to challenge myself to see that other people have their own wholeness and how much we can learn from each other.

SPEAKER_02 22:17

Yeah, totally. And I I'm happy that you brought up the like kind of parasitic nature of things. You know, it's like and it it brings an imbalance to an ecosystem. Um but what I see really is like nature focuses mostly and like nature favors like symbiotic relationships and mutualistic relationships. So uh if you've read The Secret Life of Trees by Peter Wullaban, it's an incredible book. And he talks about when there's a slug or a parasite that um is impacting one tree in the forest, then that tree will, you know, give off um chemicals to alert other the other trees around it. And then they will in turn respond and uh you know exert some sort of coating on their bark so that they actually are more protected from the parasite when it comes. And it's not like they can stop the parasite, like it is gonna do what it's gonna do, but they actually alert themselves and let them know. And it's not just through the chemicals that the tree puts out, but the tree also speaks directly to the other trees through the mycelium, the mycelium network, the mushrooms. So there's like all kinds of things happening all at once. It seems chaotic, right? But again, nature favors like this mutualistic symbiotic relationship where like you help me, I help you, we'll grow up together. The mother tree, if she can touch the canopy and she sees the sun, she's siphoning her nutrients down to the ones that are under the canopy, and that's okay. She almost sacrifices a bit of her growth for the growth of the undergrowth.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

That's beautiful. What a spectacular vision.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

Yeah. Yeah. Wow. And in the context of humans, I mean, like, it is true. People who are in their truth and speaking their truth in a way that is really, really authentic to them. It shouldn't hurt someone else by doing that. It might jar someone, you know, and we're all responsible for our own emotions and reality. But it how can we bloom in ways that are symbiotic instead of ways that are parasitic?

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Right. And how can we bloom and how can we be fully ourselves without creating harm for others?

SPEAKER_01 24:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

And I know that's a question I ask myself often. You know, because I definitely don't want to create harm to others. And I think a lot of I think most the majority of people you talk to wouldn't. But then you can look back through your day and be like, oh, like I wonder, not that we should all be super um reactive to things, but at the same time creating space for each other to fully bloom. That's that's a really beautiful way to see it.

SPEAKER_02 25:09

Yeah, totally. It's it's about nourishment and more of a collective society at that point when someone recognizes that someone else needs help or support and they have their glasses already full. You know, why not? I'm overflowing, take some. It's like this notion of the candle's already lit. Sharing my flame isn't gonna do anything to my candle. Like you're right. It'll just share my flame with you, and then you'll have a flame, and then you can share it with others, and so away you go.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

I love that. Oh, that's beautiful. Well, what do you think happens to humans when belonging feels unsafe? And you probably know this from personal experience.

SPEAKER_02 25:51

Definitely. Yeah. And I would say, like, belonging, so much of what we know about belonging is is actually woven into the six protective factors of mental health. So if you're into physical health or mental health, you know that there's like, you know, certain things that just are non-negotiables. Those six things are predictable routines, embodiment and grounding practices, moments of awe. Moments of awe, okay. Sensory safety. Sensory safety, okay. Physical movement and rest. And so I mean, all of those things together sound like the opposites of each other, right? How can you in the in the context of belonging really like incorporate that into your life? Like predictable routines, for example, in in someone that's going through transition or someone that's even losing their job or has been laid off or is going through divorce.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

Or like in the in the case of Elevate Villages, we have our youth coming out of foster care with exactly no support, no connection, no job, no.

SPEAKER_02 27:00

No nothing. And your routine is totally thrown off, right? So it's like again, going from the sport structure of like everything is so defined, everything is scheduled, to like, what the hell am I doing with my life? That's why people who like suffer with depression, like getting a dog is so helpful for them because it gives them some sense of like routine.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

Great routine.

SPEAKER_02 27:22

Yeah. Um, even tending plants. It's like tending some other living form besides yourself really helps. Really important. But we're also, we're also almost like reminded of these things every day. Like the predictable routine of day and night. Imagine if that went awry.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

I've always thought I would not do well, like in Alaska when they have like their, you know, 23 hours of dawn, or you know, just it would be so disorienting.

SPEAKER_02 27:55

Exactly. And we see in cultures that are in the far north or far south, like because it's so different at certain times of the year, they're very well versed in other practices that really keep them stable. Right.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

It would have to be.

SPEAKER_02 28:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

Right. Yeah. Okay. I love those six. I I love those six. Um what was number three?

SPEAKER_02 28:20

The so the second one was um grounding practices, so like meditation or prayer, and then the third one was moments of awe. Um and that's one we often forget. Because like when we're sit sitting stuck staring at screens all day, you know, we we don't have moments of awe really. We might see moments of awe through our through our phone on TikTok or whatever, see someone else experiencing awe, and we might get a little bit of um conversion with that, but we don't like do it for ourselves. So again, going back to like the um the CN Tower is like the big landmark here. But how can I experience something that makes me feel like I'm in awe? Like when you stand in front of a mountain or when you stand in front of the ocean. Oh, something that's absolutely yeah, like so, like in a in a lot of ways, people describe it as feeling tiny, feeling like almost insignificant to a point of like, wow, I am part of this bigger thing.

unknown 29:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:27

So that's that's a really important one for me, especially. Yeah, I miss I miss that. I miss standing by the ocean.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

Do you think that sense of awe is part of what like I know that when people go into nature it's very calming. Do you think that is part of that sense of awe?

SPEAKER_02 29:48

It is. I think it works on a lot of different layers. So imagine that you're entering the forest and just think of the senses. So you're hearing what are you hearing? You might be hearing birds, you all of a sudden don't hear like ambulances going by or fast cars on a highway, that kind of thing. You might notice little twigs cracking or things like that that really kind of present you, you know, center you. So those are tiny moments of all, like when you stare at a leaf and you're like, oh my god, wow, look at all the veins in the leaves. Completely, you know. Um, and then there's like all the other senses, right? So you could think about bird song, like bird song is one of the most ancient actual songs that humans recognize as safety. It's recognized as safety. Yeah, because when you are hearing birds, there's no disruption down below. And then when you hear quiet, if you're in the forest and the bird stops singing, you're in trouble. What happens? Oh no. Here on the on the back of the neck stands up, right? You're like, you already know that something is happening. Yeah. So just these like little moments of like clarity, uh, things that we don't even notice right now, right? So like go for a walk. I mean, the research shows like less than 20 minutes in nature, your cortisol is already down, way down. And it's all these things that we don't even notice are happening. Like, we're one, we're staring at green and the color green. There's a lot of research on this. In general, it's calming for our nervous system. So it automatically switches us. Um, the bird song, like we talked about, there's fighting sides, which is basically aromatherapy. Like if you're in the woods, trees actually secrete and excrete essential oils, which you breathe in and helps you recognize that you're makes sense, yeah. Yeah. Wow. And then this is all not to mention that you're already physically moving. You know, you might have slowed down already. You're walking, but you're slow on the earth, you're part of the land. Your feet, you like literally walk as if your feet kiss the earth, you know, every time you're just easing yourself into it. So it's like automatic, all these things. And we tend to overcomplicate it. Like we want the research, we want this, and we want that. And I'm like, just go outside, just go.

SPEAKER_00 32:19

So is that um let's talk a little bit about your work with Abundance World.

SPEAKER_02 32:24

Yeah. So, and this is kind of where it all wraps back up into belonging as well. So I'm a small town kid, moved to the big city for naturopathic medicine. I moved here specifically to study that. And I studied it, I loved it, all the botanical medicines and learning about herbs and um understanding again how our body reacts to certain things in space and time and situations and where we are and how our hormones are relieved or or not. Yeah. So in certain spaces. And so I studied that and um actually graduated during the like the pandemic basically hit as I was graduating. Wow. Okay. So um there was a part of me that was like, okay, this is I I feel like I don't regret studying it. I feel really good in this, in this career track, but it's not quite for me at this moment. And so I took a step back and actually went a lot deeper into my own heritage, wanted to learn more about the Celtic ways of knowing and how pagan traditions are really, really, really strong in Wales and Ireland and Scotland, and even what we now know as Britain. Like, this is deep, deep work. And so I was re-belonging myself in a lot of ways to that piece of my ancestry, which I had been disconnected from. And then so I have all this knowledge of plants and the earth and cycles of nature, and I'm like, oh, now I know a little bit more about my own ancestry. How can I offer that back to people? And so along the way, you know, I was trained in mindfulness, I have my forest bathing certificate, and I'm like, okay, all of these things are just like pieces, small pieces of the puzzle for me that really offer something back to the community. And again, coming from the queer community um during the pandemic, I also had gender affirmation surgery. I had top surgery, we call it, and all of those things, like I really wanted people to know that I was there for them if they were getting surgery as well. So Abundance World, my business was born in 2025. Um, we are on a much larger mission. Right now, we offer retreats, nature-based mindfulness retreats, um, getting back in touch with nature and your ancestors, which is great. And we have a much bigger vision, which is actually creating Canada's first nature-based, queer-centered nature sanctuary. And I say that queer-centered because a lot of places are like already existing, but they're like, Yeah, we're inclusive. Come on in. And I'm like, you were not built for us. Like, you were not built for my community. So doing it for folks in the queer community and by folks in the queer community, like really bringing that aspect of like centering this lived experience. Um, yeah, it can make all the difference. So I look back at my own surgery and recovery, and I think, oh my God, wouldn't it have been so much better to not wake up with four white walls, but to wake up like staring out into the wilderness, getting a chance to be rolled outside, even if I couldn't walk myself to do it, but like get some fresh air, go into a garden that my peers planted, you know, like be with circle in space where where there's other folks just like me that I see aspects of myself in them. And that's really where the belonging comes back in. Like I wish that for other folks. So that's where it's all, that's where it's all beginning and bringing nature back into our own bodies because that is really how like a lot of queer folks, a lot of transgender folks, especially non-binary folks, they feel really disconnected from their bodies. And so the first thing that we do is embodiment practices to not only get you back in touch with yourself, but back in touch with nature.

SPEAKER_00 36:34

I can't imagine how painful that must be to be that separated from your own human um vessel. Well, I'm thank you for the the work that you're doing and you know, going from your experiences in life and creating belonging for others. Um it's a beautiful thing. So congratulations. One year, are you at your one-year anniversary point yet? We are. We're coming up on it in July.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

Okay. Congratulations. I'm really uh happy about that. The one year mark is approaching. We've got some dollars in the fund and we're looking for more. So And I know you have some retreats coming up.

SPEAKER_00 37:15

Which what's the next retreat that has some opening in it?

SPEAKER_02 37:19

Yep. So we're we do a uh yeah, it is. We do a retreat to Newfoundland every year, and I'll mention this because people are obsessed with the ocean and want to go to a place that looks like Ireland but is in Canada. Nice. Um, so that's in Newfoundland every year. It's usually June, July, June or July. And then the next retreat that we're actually hosting that still has space is more of a wilderness retreat, getting back in touch with the elements of the earth and learning how to live alongside them. So it will be camping and some glamping as well if you're into it. Uh, and that will be somewhere in Ontario, a little bit north north of Toronto, but somewhere not far from here, maybe two, three hours. And that's in August. In August. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

Okay. Well, we'll have all your details in the show notes. Um, before we have to leave today, um, just one small step that you would invite our listeners to take this week to maybe heal themselves, whatever part of them is feeling fractured or unseen.

SPEAKER_02 38:22

Yeah, thanks for asking this. And I I really, really, really like suggesting something that's super easy. So if you can't even get outside your house, um, and sometimes you just can't, you could do this and and really work with the elements of nature in ways that we don't think about every day. So we have water like running out of our taps, most of us do, thank God. And so some of us will get in the shower every day or maybe a bath every day, whatever it is that you do, even if you're just drinking water from a glass. But I invite you to do it on a bit of a different level than you've ever done before, because water has memory and water invites us, yeah, to be healthy, to be well, to be strong, to be confident, to be secure in ourselves, to be grounded. And if we think about the ways that water moves on earth, it's curious. It meanders, it seeps into spaces that it's not really supposed to be. So it does. It's like risque in a way. And like if you're looking for, you know, ways to like help let your freak flag fly, just like look at water because water is everywhere. We're made of water, and I just love it. So next time you're in the shower, you just feel that sense of belonging because the shower really comes down into our into our own energy aura all the way down through. A really good example of a water technique or a ritual, even, is just allowing that to soak through your aura and let go of all the things you'd no longer need. So I invite you to do that either in the shower or the bathtub. Just let it go and let that water take it where it will because that's where it wants to go.

SPEAKER_00 40:15

All right. I love that. What a what a great thing that all of us can do and be a little bit more mindful about. Frankie, thank you for being with us here. I'm so glad we could have your voice on this podcast and you belong here with all of everything that makes you unique and beautiful and brilliant. So thank you for being a part of the belonging podcast. And for our listeners, thank you for being here. Be part of the conversation, leave some comments, ask some questions. And um, thank you to our patron, Dee Laughlin, Deanna Laughlin. Without you, these conversations might not happen. So we're so grateful for you contributing. This has been the Belonging Podcast by Elevate Villages, where we build belonging together.