Hi, everyone.
To start, today is 9/11, a day that will continue to live in infamy. We cannot thank the first-responders who answered the call that day, enough. If you are or have ever been a first-responder, thank you. I know you serve to keep our communities safe and to minimize the loss when hardships do strike.
September 11th is also a day which serves as a reminder that at our core, we are a united people. There was no red or blue, no letters at the end of names, and no “other side” that day; there were only neighbors helping neighbors.
For those of you who lost a loved one this day 22 years ago or in the events that followed, I am sorry for your loss.
Goal reflection
I read this quote from Michael MacLeod who writes The Edinburgh Guardian. I feel like it captures what I am aspiring to with Sowing Hope. I am still trying to figure out how, and I’m beyond thankful you have joined me for the journey.
It’s a gamble for me financially, but I strongly believe local news needed a more modern model, making it easier to keep up with all the things going on in and around the city. . . . I’m a big believer in trying to make tiny positive changes. The more we all care about where we live, get involved in local democracy and connect on shared interests, the better our lives can be.
Update
I really appreciate how all of you are so active and consistent with reading my posts. That you would take some time out of your busy week to see what I have to say means a lot. I know many of you are reading on email, and if that’s what works best for you then awesome 🙂.
As I have talked to some of you, it sounds like you would appreciate having these posts somewhere other than your inbox. If that is you or if you would like more features, I wanted to let you know about the Substack app. Its pretty great 😎.
As I said, it definitely can help clean up your inbox by giving a dedicated place for reading posts, getting notifications, and commenting on articles. I also learned there is a Chat feature in the app that I will be trying out soon. If you’re interested, it is a place where we can chat more regularly and casually. Since we wanted to build a community of positivity with a variety of viewpoints, I thought this would help us meet both those goals. 😎
I already plan for us to use it to talk about good things from the week on Fridays; I also want to get ideas from all of you about how we could use it. You can expect two more notifications about this Tuesday (tomorrow): 1. A message telling you the first chat for Sowing Hope has opened and 2. A personal message from me about how to join and take part in the chat. I plan on these chats being open to all subscribers unless you all tell me you want something else. As always, we have committed to being opinionated, open-minded, and kind, and this will be a great chance for us to live that commitment out 😄. I’m really excited about the opportunities this will open for us, so I look forward to seeing you in the Chat tomorrow on the Substack app.
Disclaimers
If you are new here, thanks for joining us!
Again at Sowing Hope, we commit to being opinionated, open-minded, and kind. We hold our opinions loosely, openly, and with unwavering kindness so we can all learn together. Here’s where I’m coming from today.
I support protecting nature; if God gave us dominion over the Earth, we are responsible for her health.
The Earth’s climate has shifted drastically over the past 50 years, mainly due to the decisions of unaccountable corporations.
Investing in clean air, clean water, and protecting the wildlife can be done while also benefitting us, financially.
I feel most of us can agree on these. If you find yourself disagreeing with what I’ve stated, I’m still glad you’re here, as always 😁. We can be friends, share ideas, and respectfully disagree. I think that helps us grow. As always, if you have evidence you think contradicts what I’ve said, please email it to seeds@sowinghope.how or reply to this email so I can see what you have to say. Thank you!
State of nature
Last week, the Biden Administration announced they would be protecting “more than 13 million acres” of Alaska (link). The land being protected is in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and would also help honor “the culture, history, and enduring wisdom of Alaska Natives who have lived on these lands since time immemorial.”
I really appreciate how this move protects wildlife for future generations, advances our goals of moderating climate, and encourages Americans to continue enjoying the natural beauty our world has. As someone who personally loves being in nature, I am beyond excited about protecting Alaskan wildlife. I look forward to the day I can go see the beauty of Alaska; for now I will have to settle for hearing about it from friends and seeing it in photos 🌲.
Also, the importance of restoring rights to the Alaska Natives cannot be overstated as far as I’m concerned. It’s a huge win for people who were here “since time immemorial” to finally get back some of the rights to this land. I hope you will join me in celebrating with them. I think its also a great chance for us to cheer on these and other tribal people who also lived here since time immemorial; they are getting some much needed wins and I think that is good for all of us.
The seeds sown
Since we’ve had some new subscribers lately, I thought now might be a good time to give a list of posts for easy access. 😁
Bonus Tracks
I read this quote the other day and it really put my faith into perspective, again.
“God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.” - Martin Luther
The Biggest Organism on Earth
I love science, life, and surprising facts. I re-watched this video and found all three. I really enjoy this creator, and I thought you might enjoy it, too. The answer, as always, is more complicated than it seems at first. And as always, the answer isn’t even really the best part, anyway…the journey is. 😁
Enjoy, and I hope you have a great week. I will see you tomorrow on the Substack app if you want to share ideas for Sowing Hope’s Chat feature.
That is awesome to here about Alaska! I actually had a good opportunity to honor the victims of 9/11 today. One of my assignments got released this morning to select an art piece to write about from one of five artist. When looking through all their work I noticed Hiroshi Sugimoto's World Trade Center from 1997 (will not let me italicize the piece name..). I felt moved to write about it. Sugimoto captured a black and white blurred image of the twin towers to show the perspective of the architect's mind before they were built. It was very interesting. I will attach a link since I am not able to put the image in the comments. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/hiroshi-sugimoto-world-trade-center