We spend so much energy trying to think our way to insight, yet a fuller understanding of our lives often arrives from somewhere beyond the usual way we know ourselves. When our hands are busy with ordinary tasks something vast can sometimes settle into awareness. What happens when we discover that our bodies know a kinship with the earth our minds may have forgotten? Could belonging be less about finding our place and more about recognising we never left it?



This week’s conversation is hosted, as always, by Lizzie Winn and Justin Wise of Thirdspace.



Episode Overview

00:00 Introduction to Turning Towards Life

03:03 Exploring the Source: Of Gravity and Light

05:43 The Significance of Menial Tasks

08:47 The Relationship Between Thinking and Receiving

11:45 Belonging and Recognition

14:43 Connection and Community

17:44 The Mystery of Existence and Our Place in It

20:59 The Importance of Acknowledging Our Already Existing Ways of Belonging

23:43 Creating a Sense of Belonging in the World

26:55 Conclusion and Invitations



Here’s our source for this week:



Of Gravity and Light 



What we need most, we learn from the menial tasks:

the novice raking sand in Buddhist texts,

or sweeping leaves, his hands chilled to the bone,

while understanding hovers out of reach;

the changeling in a folk tale, chopping logs,

poised at the dizzy edge of transformation;



and everything they do is gravity:

swaying above the darkness of the well

to haul the bucket in; guiding the broom;

finding the body’s kinship with the earth

beneath their feet, the lattice of a world

where nothing turns or stands outside the whole;



and when the insight comes, they carry on

with what’s at hand: the gravel path; the fire;

knowing the soul is no more difficult

than water, or the fig tree by the well

that stood for decades, barren and inert,

till every branch was answered in the stars.



John Burnside



Photo by Merri J on Unsplash



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Join Us Live in 2025



Turning Towards Life Live Season 1, from 10 September 2025

Our Turning Towards Life live programme of community, learning and reflection runs in six month seasons from September. It's going to be in person on Zoom once a month. We're very excited about it. A chance to expand beyond the bounds of a podcast into forming a community of learning and practice.

You can find out more and join us here: www.turningtowards.life/live



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About Turning Towards Life

Turning Towards Life, a week-by-week conversation inviting us deeply into our lives, is a live 30 minute conversation hosted by Justin Wise and Lizzie Winn of Thirdspace.  Find us on FaceBook to join in the lively conversation on this episode. You can find videos of every episode, and more about the project on the Turning Towards Life website, and you can also watch and listen on Instagram, YouTube, and as a podcast on Apple, Amazon Music and Spotify.



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Keywords

menial tasks, ordinary moments, body kinship, earth connection, belonging fully, inner mystery, thinking patterns, gravity metaphor, physical presence, everyday insights, transformation edge, soul simplicity, cultural belonging, human mystery, inclusion practice, overthinking habits, fearful analysis, mindful walking, dish washing, leaf sweeping, grounded presence, mysterious depths, embodied wisdom, life belonging, earthly home



People Mentioned

John Burnside - The poet whose work "Of Gravity and Light" is discussed throughout the episode