Being a good ancestor

Recently I celebrated my 49th birthday. While this is mostly a time to reflect on the 4th dimension and all the changes you go through as you age, I am simultaneously swimming into my elder years. The future is a place I am still excited about, and I have faith in the principle of leaving places and people better than we find them.

I believe a paradigm shift has already swept across the globe, enabling more of humanity to liberate ourselves from colonial lies and cultural hegemony. After all, it is Altruistic August. There are good deeds happening all around us. And we can't complain if we're lacking in good deeds, that just means we need to create more of our own. For instance, you can start right here, by speaking up for 1/5 of the world's freshwater that's currently under threat.

The primary step we must take is acknowledging our interconnections and seeing ourselves first as one human family and then coming to realize that we are also related, both genetically and spiritually, to every living being on Earth. Once that ancient fact becomes re-introduced into modern society, we can learn from all life on our planet, care for each other better and live harmoniously.

A rainy August morning in Port Austin, Michigan (2025)

“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.”

― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants