Dear ones - There’s a lot of upheaval in the world and it feels surreal to be alive amid so many unfolding crises while also going about the mundane of our days. I’m naming that because while political activism work doesn’t feel like it’s my best contribution to these times (but guiding people to stay human does), I don’t believe in bypassing either. I believe we have to hold the tension of wondering if we’re doing the right things and enough of them; alongside loving the people around us,...
18 days ago • 8 min read
Dear ones - I want to start off quickly acknowledging - the energy feels heavy out there right now. There's a lot of fear, exhaustion, unrest, and uncertainty. Remember to take some deep breaths, rest (I guide you into some in my last podcast episode, ep 56, if you want some support in that), connect with people you love and feel safe around. Take yourself offline and invest in things which are real, as well as your longer-distance connections and community. I suspect one of the most...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Dear ones - The full moon from a few days ago is known in Scotland and Irish Gaelic as the Wolf Moon - the days are getting longer, but there’s still a lot of winter left. Lean days. Hungry days. Wild days. This far north, I can really see how much longer the evenings are getting already. A quick change in weather had all the snow where I was disappear overnight. We’re a few weeks away from the beginning of February and what’s known in the Gaelic speaking countries as Imbolc or Imbolg -...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Dear ones - Happy Roman New Year and beginning of 2025! As they say in Scotland: “lang may yer lum reek” which means “long may your chimney smoke” - a wish for long life, prosperity, and community (harking to the tradition of first footin’ and bringing coals to each other to keep the fire going after the bells ring midnight). Being over here it’s been a pretty quiet holiday season for me, though not without the love of friends and family. There has been plenty of that. I’m grateful to you all...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Dear ones, Colonization, capitalism, industrialization, the enlightenment… all of these moments and eras in history (and present day); these ways of viewing the world which influenced actions, policies, and human survival patterns....(whether intentionally or not), all of them have worked to sever our human sense of kinship and belonging to the natural world. All of them have waged some level of war against and received some amount of benefit from us losing a more land-based, more...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hello, dear ones - I’ll keep this email as brief/ direct as possible because if you’re anything like me right now, you’re juggling a lot while also wishing you were hiding away in a cozy cottage with a fire where no one knows where you are. Yesterday was the final full moon of the year. I felt called to spent time with water and hung out in a sauna (with cold plunge tubs) next to the ocean. Just what I needed. Podcast I also dropped an incredibly potent and important podcast episode. Tad...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Dear ones - Here we are - the final month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. I’m writing to you from Ireland and here on Éire and Alba (the longer ago names for Ireland and Scotland), our ancestors would have acknowledged the new year as having already begun at Samhain, end of October, early November. This season, instead of being a time of rushing and full schedules and celebrations, would’ve been recognized as the dark, lean times of the year -where food and fuel are scarce and...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Dear ones - We each have a fire within us. And we need our fire in these times, perhaps more than ever. What if your fear of being seen as lazy is wasting your fire and contributing to your burnout? And what if what we’ve been taught to consider as laziness is our body and brain trying to recalibrate back to more sustainable cycles of efforting and rest? Your desire to contribute and make a difference is a genuine and beautiful thing… and when it gets entangled with (often unconscious and...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Dear ones - I just wanted to drop you a note in the wake of the US election and the heightened emotions and stress many people are feeling right now. A reminder: What you are feeling is ok, and probably a healthy response. To respond as if under threat when you are under threat is good. It's not sustainable. Nor does it do much to create a new world. But for now, feel the feels. Breathe. Hydrate. Get out into Nature. Gather and grieve together. Touch solid things like trees. Gently pet your...
4 months ago • 1 min read