Making better connections, understanding ourselves and our relationship with nature through the power of storytelling is what Wayland Boulanger does.
A great follower of the Mabinogion where its tales cleverly link with the complexities of our landscapes, fitting perfectly into the ethos of the Sustainable Management Scheme project in how we capture communities in our landscapes to try to see where we can come together, share values and find a new level of respect.
“It’s about making connections and recognising how we are all more connected than we think,” says Wayland, who believes the tales give permission to think differently with complete freedom to help children slip into another world and access wisdom for themselves.
“It’s not about finding a right or a wrong way to think. It’s up to each individual to see the story, explore the opportunities and unravel the task of the tales for themselves and put it into their own perspective.”
The old old tales of the Mabinogion are as relevant today as when they were written many years ago when connections were more in tune and where folk relied on the signs from nature to help them understand themselves and their environment better. The tensions, the struggles, the boiling pots; the compromises, the way to work it out better together.
Stepping out of the world into another where you can be something else, albeit for just a moment in time, is where you can make better sense of your own place is what Wayland believes the Mabinogion inspires.
The children both from Hay and Clyro school were captivated by the tales as they stepped into the tales of the Mabinogion and walked/ran across the moor turning the landscape it into a live stage performance as Wayland headed off to the next point of the hill to continue the story to further stir the imagination.
A magical experience where the weather wasn’t even noticed. In fact,
the wind and rain is all part of the experience. The children are enthralled by the ‘what happens next’ in the stories so beautifully told by Wayland.
It’s a way of understanding ourselves better too. In lots of ways it’s simple, uncluttered not motivated by any religion. It’s balancing the ying and the yang, it’s about life experiences. The tales are somehow pointing to the equilibrium; the balance.
“It completely awakens something up inside of us,” explains Wayland, who believes that there is a buzz going on right now. There’s something much deeper going on in our landscapes which is calling out for connections to be made.
We are again entering another world for a moment, exploring ourselves, and making sense of the ever-changing world. We must connect with the country people to help us bring greater cohesive into our landscapes. The wisdom in nature is what will reunite people.
The old values are waiting to be connected …………
The Mabinogion is really about facilitating bigger conversations allowing for the more discerning view to help a new level of respect being born.
