Your exploration of waymaking as a way to hold contrasting perspectives without forcing one to win is so inspiring, and it really clicks with Buckminster Fuller’s idea of precession I mentioned in my comment on your recent interview with Professor Hayles. Fuller described precession as setting out toward a goal—like a bee seeking nectar—but along the way creating unexpected ripple effects (like pollination) that end up being just as important. This resonates with waymaking’s “blunting the sharp edges” and bringing things together on the same track, as you quote from the Tao Te Ching.
It also reminds me of the edge effect in ecology: those vibrant border zones where two habitats meet, where diversity and vitality surge precisely because differences overlap and intermix. Waymaking seems to work the same way—at the “edges” between mind and body, imagination and movement, culture and nature—where new stories, meanings, and connections emerge.
As someone writing "Aussie Dreamers," a magical realism book for kids that weaves deep ecology and Indigenous wisdom, I see this in how stories can guide young readers through complex connections—between humans, nature, and culture—without reducing them to either/or choices. Your idea of waymaking as a dynamic process that holds both “mind” and “body,” or “locomotion” and “imagination,” mirrors how my bird characters (and Indigenous children) navigate their world, finding paths through the land’s stories and spirits, not by resolving contrasts but by moving with them in harmony. This approach feels like precession—and like the edge effect—in action: aiming to spark wonder and care in kids, but along the way, fostering a deeper sense of connection to the planet and each other.
It’s exciting to think of waymaking as a storytelling tool that can help kids embrace this kaleidoscopic view, nurturing love and care as they explore their place in a living, breathing world.
Your writing doesn’t just explain way making, it embodies it. Thank you for sharing. ♥️
I also have a personal question I wanted to ask, I left it inbox, when you have time please check it out.
Thank you. I found your message and responded. Much appreciated
You are welcome
❤️
Your exploration of waymaking as a way to hold contrasting perspectives without forcing one to win is so inspiring, and it really clicks with Buckminster Fuller’s idea of precession I mentioned in my comment on your recent interview with Professor Hayles. Fuller described precession as setting out toward a goal—like a bee seeking nectar—but along the way creating unexpected ripple effects (like pollination) that end up being just as important. This resonates with waymaking’s “blunting the sharp edges” and bringing things together on the same track, as you quote from the Tao Te Ching.
It also reminds me of the edge effect in ecology: those vibrant border zones where two habitats meet, where diversity and vitality surge precisely because differences overlap and intermix. Waymaking seems to work the same way—at the “edges” between mind and body, imagination and movement, culture and nature—where new stories, meanings, and connections emerge.
As someone writing "Aussie Dreamers," a magical realism book for kids that weaves deep ecology and Indigenous wisdom, I see this in how stories can guide young readers through complex connections—between humans, nature, and culture—without reducing them to either/or choices. Your idea of waymaking as a dynamic process that holds both “mind” and “body,” or “locomotion” and “imagination,” mirrors how my bird characters (and Indigenous children) navigate their world, finding paths through the land’s stories and spirits, not by resolving contrasts but by moving with them in harmony. This approach feels like precession—and like the edge effect—in action: aiming to spark wonder and care in kids, but along the way, fostering a deeper sense of connection to the planet and each other.
It’s exciting to think of waymaking as a storytelling tool that can help kids embrace this kaleidoscopic view, nurturing love and care as they explore their place in a living, breathing world.