May Day and Pleasure Activism
As we compost the modern world and reimagine a new one, together
Welcome back to The Link, a bi-weekly circularity newsletter making the connection between regenerative farming and you, every other Tuesday.
Yesterday was my birthday, which means two things: Happy belated Beltane to all, and happy first year anniversary to this newsletter!
Beltane is an ancient ritual on May 1st with a thousand year tradition rooted in Ireland, Scotland, and The Isle of Man to protect cattle, humans, crops, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were lit, whose flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. At ancient Beltane gatherings, livestock were cloaked in flower garlands and driven between two bonfires to cleanse them of disease and ensure the future health of the herd and the families they fed. It was a celebration of community and sacred fertility, marked by the notable maypole dances (see the image above) that are still active today.
The Link started out like a small fire; a creative exercise to explore my passions around regenerative farming, circularity, and mindset shifts in the name of climate optimism. But as the smoke and flames licked its growth, the bonfire has generated a vibrant community thanks to you, dear readers, diverse perspectives from brilliant minds across the regenerative, creative, and scholarly spaces that intersect around land stewardship, our kinship to other species, why soil health is so vitally important to our wellbeing and future, and so much more.
Digging our hands into the soil of what we’ve journeyed together so far are things I firmly believe to be true: Most of the climate solutions moving forward are already here, and Indigenous wisdom holds the solutions as we move forward in society. We must center Indigenous perspectives, support and humbly follow Indigenous elders, and check our own individual behaviors and where they need to be reframed in order to move our collective into this new world, reimagined.
The modern world around us feels like it might be collapsing. Large banks are failing. The United States might run out of cash by June. The “godfather” of AI quit Google this week to warn humanity about the dangers of digital intelligence, while so many others are quickly embrace it all. There are daily horrors we are all witnessing on top of the stagnation of collective grief that is the aftermath of the pandemic we haven’t fully processed yet.
And yet there’s so much good shit to look forward to.
In the spirit of Beltane, sending you smoke signals to provide protective power for community resilience and encourage your own growth—as an individual heading into this new world and as a community member who knows how to show up.
Moving forward, The Link is going to include the following:
-More interviews with experts, First Nations elders, and innovative thinkers
-Practical tips for implementing food systems community resilience in your own backyard, whether it’s a literal one or in the middle of New York City
-Farmer profiles and interviews that will make you want to quit your day job
-Gonzo prose from yours truly
-Other stuff that I haven’t thought of but will germinate from the seeds planted above
I can’t believe there’s paid subscribers now, which is so deeply humbling, inspiring, and a reminder to keep me on deadlines. In the spirit of pleasure activism, this newsletter will continue to be available to all readers for community growth, but for for paid subscribers, I’m going to be creating and sending you monthly art (illustrations and seed kits, embroidered talismans to bring you good luck in the garden, and so much more) because that brings me so much joy.
Light a match, and let’s make this bonfire even bigger than before.
Love,
Helen