The 'Be More Brimstone' article featured in the latest Butterfly magazine received some moving feedback, which we publish with the permission of the author in the hope that it will help others. You can read the original 'Be More Brimstone' article here: Be More Brimstone.
The thoughts of Lisa Joynes:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Be More Brimstone’ in the Spring issue; it resonated with me, especially as the very first butterfly I saw this year was a Brimstone; representing transformation and new beginnings. It has been a challenging couple of years for the whole world, not to mention the current news but, for me personally, I lost my beloved husband last year to a terminal illness, which he battled courageously for 20 months. Since his passing in January 2021, I have had a transformation and new beginning of my own. When I read Amy-Jane’s last few sentences it just made me want to jump for joy. ‘There is no reason we cannot sing, dance, write, dream, laugh, whoop, celebrate and collaborate our way out of this. Spring is coming. Let’s be more Brimstone.’
I have danced, sung, written, dreamt, laughed, whooped, celebrated and collaborated my way out of the ‘climate-catastrophe’ in my own world, by embracing and championing Mother Nature. As well as launching myself into wild swimming, and doing lots of walking to train for The Camino, I took part in a demonstration on climate action last year, and landed up dancing to ‘Staying Alive’ in Southampton Guildhall Square, without realising it was being filmed by the BBC, and showed up front and centre on TV in the local news! As Amy-Jane’s friend said ‘’God, I love saving the planet’ - it felt so good to be a part of something so passionate and positive and, I agree ‘choosing to be happy is radical.’ As a young widow, I have chosen to be happy, and my happiness is a reflection to others that ‘more than anything else we need love and joy – that first-Brimstone-of-the-year kind: fragile, but potent. ‘And love is far more motivating than anger, grief or fear. What we feel radiates out into the world. We definitely need to ‘Be More Brimstone’.
I have been a member of Butterfly Conservation for a few years now, and I love doing a butterfly transect near my home, thanks to Andy Barker, and my photo of a Speckled Wood made it onto the parish noticeboard. It may be a small transect in Hampshire but, nationwide, everybody’s efforts make a big difference. Thank you for all that you do. One of my favourite sayings comes from political philosopher Edmund Burke (1729-1797) ‘Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.’
Need I say more?
You can read the original 'Be More Brimstone' article here: Be More Brimstone.
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We loved Lisa's feedback on the article, and are keen to hear any thoughts or ideas that you have on anything we do at Butterfly Conservation. Please email us on @email with any comments you have.