It Will Find You

A practice from the Work That Reconnects · Joanna Macy & John Seed, Thinking Like a Mountain

It Will Find You says the nourishment is already here — that nature reaches toward us. This practice gives it a voice. The non-human world gets to speak in the room.

How it works

Each person briefly becomes the being they identified in The Boldest Devastation — a creature, a landscape, a river, a species. They speak as that being for just a minute or two. Not performing. Simply attending.

The format is simple:

"I am [being]. And what I want humans to know is..."

Others listen without comment. No response, no applause, no nodding. Just witnesses. When all who want to speak have spoken, a moment of collective silence before returning.

Facilitation note: go first yourself to lower the threshold — it gives others permission. No one is required to speak. Silence from some beings is also a message. Allow 10–15 minutes depending on group size. The silence at the end is important — don't rush to debrief.

A Nature Connection practice · Wilderness Awareness School / Jon Young tradition

It Will Find You is about trust — about nourishment already being here, already reaching towards us, if only we can perceive it. These two practices shift the body into the mode of attention that perceiving it actually requires.

Owl Eyes

Ask participants to choose a point to look at — a leaf, a stone, something in the middle distance. Invite them to let their gaze soften rather than focus: not staring at the point, but letting it blur slightly as their attention widens.

Hold your arms out with your hands together, the point of focus between them, then gradually move your hands and arms through 90 degrees, wiggling your fingers as they move into your peripheral vision. Keep looking ahead but bring your attention to the wiggling fingers, without moving your eyes. Repeat moving your hands up and down to gradually establish the limits of your peripheral vision in all directions around you. The field of view can extend to 180 degrees or more.

Invite them to stay in this soft, wide vision for 2–5 minutes, noticing what moves, what flickers, what was always there and is only now visible. They can walk for a while like this and notice how widely they see and feel the space around them.

Fox Walk

Invite participants to walk around, then ask: how are your feet landing on the ground? Which part of the foot hits first? If it's safe and appropriate, shoes off.

Think of each step as a question rather than an assumption — probing the ground to be certain it is safe to land, only following with your weight when it is.

The movements: knees softly bent, body upright but not rigid, arms loose. Step with the outer edge and toes of the leading foot first, feeling the ground before committing weight. Then roll inward — the ball of the foot, then the heel. Shift weight onto it entirely, then lift the trailing foot and repeat. Only shift weight when the leading foot has fully landed.

The pace is the practice. Move with the rhythm of the place rather than your own internal tempo. Pause often — standing still is part of fox walking. When still, notice: what can you hear? Keep your owl eyes on. What moves at the edge of sight?

Facilitation note: works best outdoors, in a natural setting, 10–20 minutes. Owl Eyes and Fox Walk combine — hold the soft wide gaze while walking. Slow the pace right down; the value is in the noticing, not the distance covered.