I ruined yet another family dinner, it had to be for something. I couldnt’ stop talking about the warmest ocean temperatures. Or that majority of Americans are paycheck to paycheck despite economists saying everything is fine. I needed them to know that even though we were sitting at an expensive restaurant eating roasted duck and warm bread that things weren’t okay.
Then my dad said the words that the younger generation dreads, “Things won’t change.”
Everything in my body has to believe this isn’t true, that things can and must change. They say history repeats itself, but I hope this time never happens again.It was important collectively that it doesn’t happen again.
It felt important to keep pushing, ruining family dinners, losing followers online. Everything felt like it was falling apart and no one around me seemed to care except a select few. Who was willing to feel this pain and uncertainty with me? Who was willing to feel the grief and hopelessness?
More and more I saw that keeping people in survival mode ensures they will keep drowning and not notice anyone else and stay in our soliptistic bubbles of safety. I wanted people to feel held by each other and Earth itself.
I just started focusing on food and where I put my money. Buying used and shopping at the farmer’s market. And then I started to get interested in farming..specificially regenerative agriculture.
Ideally, US farmers could do regenerative farming practices because they didn’t rely on government subsidiaries for planting only GMO. While I had taken permaculture courses and educated myself on carbon capture methods, and non-extractive investing. To see the benefits of carbon capture and shifting thinking about growing food worldwide. It was something we could do together, just needed to know how. Rather than mono-crops creating diversity large-scale farming. I got involved with Kiss the Ground organization who partners with farmers and worked towards finding land that could serve as an educational center. First finding something in California then expanding. The center would also be on land large enough to create a carbon capture weather shift while giving it back to local indigenous tribes in ownership model for rematriating.
Next, I focused on the financials. People get rich by making money on things that hurt the our planet. I wanted to help others and myself grow wealth through support rather than pain.
So I used the small inheritance I received to invest in the Black Farmer’s Fund that nurtures community wealth by investing in Black agricultural systems on the East coast. I also partnered with Next Egg, Main Street other groups focused on helping people put their money into sources that could support their investments while also bringing wealth into communities.
It took time but the momentum built, without relying on politicians or financial advisors, and community and Earth care became woven into the structures themselves. I first noticed the relief with progressive student loan payments, which helped….then California was the first state to pass health care for immigrants, then all residents. People no longer went into debt for a check up or healthcare. It made such a difference that both parties could agree it was an amazing option. It spread like wildfire in blue states, then something amazing happened. Universal basic income became a staple of a few states’ economic support, the extra $1000 a month allowed residents to either donate to others or local non-profits or keep for themselves.
The combination of getting to help others created cycles of support where people felt the impact of being connected to each other and everything continued to cultivate collaboration from there. The inter-related webs became an interweaving of souls both human and non-human animals and the realization that Earth wasn’t separate.
But it had to start with each other, the believing things could change…and ultimately putting our money where our mouth goes.