tenderness (Patreon)

tread lightly, for the planks you walk on are tired and rotting. the holes between each board gape like panting mouths, gasping for enough breath to apologize for how they're barely hanging on. 

vulnerability. we all must show it eventually. the world's oldest tree is grouchy as it waits for its bedtime winter blanket of snow, delayed on arrival this year. age might bring wisdom, sure, but it might not. even the most patient of herons eventually flies off, when no fish are to be found. 

everything in the world is tenuous, but for change. spring threatens winter with early arrival, just as summer elbows spring out of its way, impatient. cities expand, while suburbs burn. commodities trading rises like the ocean, while rivers that had run for centuries and shaped mountains, trickle dry. 

we had everything we needed, but we tossed it in the landfill and hid it in the shuffle of bureaucratic papers, all in the search for more. and rather than show our vulnerable bellies, and fix our mistakes, we raised our hackles and doubled down. stomping boots, raised voices, grabbing hands, lengthened the shortages, inflated the prices, luxurified the necessities, criminalized the need. 

please. 

find your tenderness. 

tend to the bridge, that others may cross it too. 

tend to people, help them across. 

tend to the air, the trees, the water, the winter, the smallest mosses, the quietest animals, and those who are the most silenced. 

we are all, every one of us, gasping right now. barely hanging on. some feign comfort, closing their eyes as they sprint towards our oblivion. but even olympians pant as they run. 

please. 

show others your tenderness. lead by example. invite others with you to rebuild the bridge. you knew you couldn't do it alone anyways. the heron knows where the fish should be, make sure there are fish to find. remind the suburbs that bigger isn't always better, remind the cities what the mosses told us, that there is so much to be gained when we all root together tightly and grow upwards from there. summer is in a rush, allow it to slow down by allowing all of us to slow down. 

tread lightly, for the planks you walk on are tired, but they know with rest comes healing.

I have a list coming soon of resources on climate change policy. It'll be an invitation for us to learn together. If you have any resources you recommend, or want to share, I appreciate all your input. 

shot by Willow