Jeremy Hastings – A Worker of ‘Magick’?
Written by Phil Brown, Badger Bushcraft Monday, 15 November 2010 13:06
A definition for magick is ‘the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the will’ and Jeremy Hastings of both Islay Birding and Islay Bushcraft certainly worked some magick with me!
I have known Jeremy and his family for some years having met them all at The Wilderness Gathering back in 2005 where we exchanged tales, talked about kit and how to reduce what we carry when we journey through the landscape and we discussed a myriad of events we had been privileged to have experienced and learnt from.
I was very fortunate to spend some time on Islay in 2007 where I shared a journey with Jeremy on an expedition discovering the wild places on the island and being at one with The Nature.
Without rambling on too much the time on Islay changed my life. This has had a tremendously positive effect on not just me but also but my family and closest of friends. I endeavor to pass on this experience and share this magick with those that I work with as it only takes the smallest of sparks to ignite the tinder of our innermost being so that we might view the world with a new focus to our eyes and fire in our hearts.
There are very few days that go by where I do not think of Islay and my time there. In the quite moments when I am at peace I often hear the oystercatchers call or visualize the sunset of Summer Solstice 2007 when we watched the sun sink into the sea and where we baked bread and slept on the beach. There seems to be so many conspiring thoughts that are forever inviting me to return there.
Next year could be a good time to journey to the inspirational shores of loch and sea, nadir of the glen and the zenith of the hill, the wildness, the wilderness and The Nature.
This would make 2011 a very tangible tonic for the soul, a good excuse to visit very dear friends and the opportunity to thank Jeremy once again for helping me turn the right corner when I was at a major crossroads in my life.
Thanks Jez for being who you are!
For further reading I found a most interesting article about Jeremy Hastings here
‘The journey is not a means to an end – it is an end in itself, says Hastings. “The people who find it the most difficult are those who keep saying: ‘What’s the plan? What are we going to do next?’ We’re already doing something, I say. Don’t worry about what we’re going to do. Let’s concentrate on what we’re doing now. When you go home, you want to be able to look at this journey as a series of nows. And there’ll be times when it will be really challenging and uncomfortable for you, but there will be other moments where it will be exquisite.’
Herald Scotland 7th June 2010
Jeremy can be contacted via his websites Islay Birding and Islay Bushcraft.
