Punctually at 3:47pm each afternoon, a family of Titi tamarins arrived at my rooftop doorway to ask for bananas.
Reflections
Still-Life of Environmental Paradox in Hidalgo, Mexico
The disconnect between what I knew and what I saw left me stumbling for how to feel.
Wired for Hope: Youth, Migration, & Bridging the Tech Gap in Rural Mexico
I’d regularly see “Missing” posters for teenagers and wonder if they were amongst those who’ve been disappeared by narcos, or if they’d joined a caravan to the Land of Dreams.
The Flickering: the wild still sings in the dark
A screech owl whinnies in the distance and somewhere in the back of my mind arises the knowledge that tomorrow will be longer and harder for this nocturnal venture, but life will seem easier.
Plastic Tides in Our Sacred Ocean: A Call for Kuleana
In Hawaiian culture, there are deeply rooted concepts for which I wish we had English equivalents:
The Housing Crisis is a Plea for Culture Shift
Recently, I was introduced to someone who—upon learning that I work as a Housing Advocate—responded with a question I hadn’t expected.
Dear Climate Activist Apologetically Taking a Break
All that ‘self-care’ blabber isn’t just about keeping yourself from getting burnt out; it’s also about making yourself strong. And soft. Go soften. Stare off without thoughts. Watch a slug move across the forest floor. Or contemplate all those thoughts in your head at once—while staring at the Milky Way.
Wild Grace: Saving Species Is More Possible Than We Think
As we watched each other with a mix of curiosity and trepidation, I wondered if the ancient stories of half-human creatures first came from reports of long-lost beings that once went extinct—or from the desperate hopes of mankind as we first began to want to become anything but human.
Revenge-Travel Blues: Movement in a Post-Pandemic World
It occurs to me not for the first time that the era that allowed me to travel and even root myself in so many homes has now cost me the ability to ever return to them in the true sense of the word. Every year between visits increases the odds that the landscape I knew will be changed— whether by fires, floods, and droughts, or by noise, gentrification, and increasing swarms of humans seeking a piece of the “off the beaten path” before it’s gone.
The Terror Within: Can We Please Really Talk About the Whys Behind School Shootings?
I can’t stop thinking about Salvador’s one pair of jeans.
What Remains: Reflections on Climate, Home & Hope
Despite the improbability of any of us ever meeting anywhere back in the “real world,” we all float together now amidst the rice stalks - bonded by a fierce, desperate love for the world we’ve been watching wilt our entire lives, and contemplating what these wetlands could look like in the years to come if we lose this next battle.
Red Tape & Cat Tails: The Complicated Journey to Voting Rights
Once upon a time in Mexico, all my important documents were destroyed by a cat and a bottle of peroxide.
Sawdust & Smoke: Finding Life in the Remnants
As much as my heart bleeds daily, I don’t want to spend the rest of my finite time with Mother Earth in mourning.
What Does Restorative Justice Look Like? A Lesson from Oaxaca
Years ago I was living in a rural village in Oaxaca, Mexico, population 400, when it was discovered that their mayor had embezzled about $20,000 of the community budget—a massive amount of money in a poverty-stricken community.
Naked & Unashamed: Embracing Vulnerability Amid Chaos
I’d just returned to the mainland from a visit back to Kauai when Lockdown began, and the opportunity to remember the lessons from my time living there has helped me through this year-long month. I’ve often joked that on the island everyone might as well be “naked” because it doesn’t… Naked & Unashamed: Embracing Vulnerability Amid ChaosRead more