It was 2014 when Wild Fig was born. The obvious next step as I left corporate life feeling deeply disillusioned about that world and wanting to make a difference.
I chose Wild Fig because, in a pivotal conversation with Perry Timms to explore a freelance life, he recognised my deep curiosity and desire to get to root causes instead of masking symptoms.
This really resonated. Hmm, deep roots…I like trees….which tree has the deepest roots?
When I got home I Googled it and found the options of Baobab or Wild Fig – and so the name was chosen.
Now, after 6 years, the brand has had a refresh. It felt like the right time because my work has changed over the last 2 years. Now I guide clients beyond psychology to understand the workings of our human experience, to find the stability that’s available prior to the ups and downs of the foreground life we’ve been focused on. Deeper roots than I knew existed before!
So what does the logo mean?
Well the tree symbol obviously had to stay. Given this new deeper root system I work with people on, the original name and premise are more relevant than ever. In conversation with Rhys Thomas and Teresa Quinn on their Podcast I also recognised the symbolism of the fig tree and its correlation to Buddhism – it hadn’t been in my awareness when I first set up the business but it now makes that choice more relevant than ever.
My work isn’t Buddhism but it points to the same fundamental principles of experience that Buddhism, and all spiritual understandings, point to. Understandings that Western society has lost in favour of a self-centric way of being.
And understandings that Western neuroscience, quantum physics and philosophy are increasingly validating.
Now is the time to re-balance.
What about the other elements of the logo?
In the west we’ve been living a self-centric life for hundreds of years: it’s about me, it’s about growth, it’s about linear plans, it’s about having to get somewhere on a certain timeline and controlling the environment to suit our needs along the way. Metaphorically, a “head” way of being.
These activities are not wrong but we’ve become increasingly lost, mistakenly believing our value in the world and our wellbeing relies on these activities. Our single-focus in this pursuit has become unsustainable – both at an individual and at a global scale. There’s been plenty of commentary about coronavirus being here to remind us to slow down, stop/ To look at what we’ve been doing – and importantly how we’ve been doing it. We’ve forgotten the heart.
And so, the draw towards balancing our head with our heart comes. It seems that this re-balancing happens for everyone at some point or other. When it appears for you, my job is to guide you through it from an understanding of what’s going on. I also come with awareness that I could never know it all – nobody could and nobody does – and therefore I bring a curiosity to keep learning with you and with others around me.
Given all this, I wanted the heart to be represented in the logo and it’s right there at the centre of the fig. I hadn’t even spotted it when Jenna first shared the design with me – and I fell in love with it the moment I did!
The swirl also represents balance between heart and head – in fact – let me take you back to what actually happened…
I love Moana! That movie had me in floods of tears when we saw it back in 2016. It seems to have been a significant moment on the journey. I remember a friend of mine saying “that movie seems to have woken something spiritual”. At that time I thought spirituality = religion and I rejected religion and therefore rejected the idea of spirituality and so I thought she was talking nonsense! And yet there was a glimmer of curiosity…
Then a year or so ago, as thoughts of a new logo were beginning to surface, my friend Clare and I did a Street Wisdom. As I walked I was so struck by the contrast of the linear paving slabs, buildings, railings (head) with the beautifully perfect and fascinating non-linearity of nature (heart). On that walk I was also drawn to the human-made circles and swirls which I later realised connected back to the symbol of Moana!
And so a swirl was brought into the picture. I later discovered that the direction of the swirl represents the feminine – not female, as in women, but feminine as in the energy of creativity, wisdom, connection, inspiration. How we see the whole within its context. The heart.
We all have feminine energy and express it to greater or lesser extents, and it is the perfect balance to the masculine – or head – (which we also all have and express) of plans and linear and conceptualising.
So deep roots, heart and balance – all available to reconnect you to innate brilliance so you get to live a fulfilling life.
Now what about you?
As you’ve read this you might have been drawn towards or pushed away from some aspects. Notice that.
The pushing away is the head – “that doesn’t align with what I think – I don’t like it.”
And the drawing towards is the heart – “there’s something resonating in this – although not something that I could put any logic to.”
If re-balancing your mind – and therefore your experience of life – sounds useful, go ahead to the website and find out more.