Hi Friend,

One of the cool things about hosting a podcast is that sometimes publishers reach out to me with new books that they want me to do an episode on/interview the author. Sometimes that means that some books/authors/ideas come into my field that I would not have otherwise encountered ... and that I absolutely love.

Feed Us With Trees by Elspeth Hay is one of those books.

It's pretty rare that I get quite this excited about a book about food. Not because I don't love food. I mean, obviously, that's not the case. I'm proud to live in farm country, to support as many local farmstands as I can, and to be a bit of a food snob. (And I also enjoy the occasional KFC, just in case anyone was wondering.)

But because a lot of what I see out there is either a) going over stuff I pretty much already know, having spent some time in the 'our current food system really, really sucks' field, and b) feels depressing, boring, or overly hyped.

But this book was - great. I loved reading about nut trees. I loved how she combined science and story and Indigenous knowledge and colonial history and craft. I really loved how she kept finding meaningful ways to turn ideas into practice in her own life.

And the book is a really good fit for our podcast - unusually so, I might say - because Elspeth charts not only why we both can and should return to agro-forestry, savannahs, and eating acorns (and attending to the cultural fire burning that accompanies healthy oak tree ecosystems) - but because she is making an argument in such a way that we are witness to her own journey. OK, that's not actually so unusual. But the pieces that she pulls together on her journey are the classic pieces of what I now think of as journeys of ReMembering and ReEnchanting.

These elements include:

- understanding (through research, personal experience, etc.) why the dominant (fill in the blank - education, food, medicine, etc.) is struggling and has serious implications for both people and planet

- the power structures behind it - colonization, racism, etc etc

-seeing how this one issue is connected to so many others- going deeply into a systems perspective

- experience intense grief, possibly betrayal, and often anger

- recognize that the ways that things used to be different back pre-colonization on this continent (ie, this system is NOT inevitable)

- understanding the ways that the current WEIRD system actually comes from Europe, not just America (or I would say, between the interactions between Europe and America at the beginning of the modern era)

- the importance of white folks building relationships with Indigenous peoples and BIPOC communities and trying to find some kind of respectful way to change their/our own behavior at a personal level, as well as at some kind of social/community level

- Get into various histories of colonization, especially wherever your people are from, and what the power struggles were in the places you think your people were from.

For people looking at European histories, that includes recognizing some of the Bad Things that happened to European folks that influenced what they did to other folks around the globe

- Recognize the links between colonization and patriarchy in a real, tangible and felt way in their own lives as well as in larger systems

- Finding some kind of craft or embodied practice or music/song in one's own life that is revitalizing something ancient

- Engaging in a creative endeavor yourself as part of self-expression and storytelling in different ways

- looking at your own family lineage differently, which might include wondering about various inherited silences

- Beginning to find other people who are recognizing similar things.

- Finding that all sorts of people start showing up in your life in ways that are wild even to you, and that you did not expect, and that feels a bit miraculous at times

- Finding yourself in some very unexpected places but somehow it all makes perfect sense

- Shifting some kind of practical relationship to land (such as land you own or have access to)

-Usually, a ritual or two or five show up. And sometimes some direct ancestors you didn't even know you were supposed to be paying attention to.

- And the Church. And Religion. And God. Whatever all that means. (I'm not promising any answers on this one. Just that they will show up.)

- Telling very different stories about where we come from and what's possible

- Wondering why it took you so long, but really it hasn't been all that long at all, has it?

I see these elements in many different peoples’ journeys. Elspeth had many of them in her story. So I was a definite yes for her coming onto the podcast!

I asked her if she wanted to bring anyone else, because I thought that would be cool. She said absolutely, it would be so meaningful for her to bring in several of the people she had met and been inspired by on her journey, and help them actually talk WITH one another instead of just through her (something that my old journalist self totally understood!), and suddenly I had FOUR GUESTS in ONE podcast. And I was like, Great! And…Oh man, that's a lot of guests!

The recording went well. And then I realized we never actually summarized the book itself. Which ... needed to be done.

So this podcast starts with me giving a macro-overview of her book, and then goes into the conversation.

I might end up doing a circle on this book in the Fall - let me know if that intuitively sounds like something you might want to be a part of.

I hope you enjoy this episode, and let me know if you get her book and enjoy it too!

I also happened to re-listen to the introduction that I use for every podcast episode. Which led me to realize that that intro really doesn't work anymore. It kinda worked when I first started the podcast, but it really doesn't work now. So I made a new introduction to the podcast as a whole.

Which, I gotta say, was something I had mixed feelings about.

Because this podcast is not yet what I want it to become.

I mean, creating a library of conversations with great people that I can send to all sorts of other people I meet has been very rewarding. There are SO many times when I have conversations with clients or colleagues, and I say, oh, that idea you just mentioned, I have a podcast on that! It's really neat. And it's been a great way for me to connect with thinkers and authors and leaders whom I've wanted to connect with.

But it is not yet well-integrated into the work I'm doing. Same themes, but its not yet enough of a coherent whole in the way I know it could be. I'd like to do more teaching in it, more overarching narrative work that reflects the innovative analysis and connections that happen behind the scenes every week here at Sequoia Samanvaya. I'd like it to be the basis of helping people like you in your practice, with each episode supporting the wider community that is even now orbiting around these themes.

And I'm not there yet.

So this new podcast introduction is a stepping stone. It's not quite where I want to go, but it is better than what I have been putting out there before.

I'm saying this not just because I want you to listen to it. I mean, if you want to, that's great.

I'm saying all this because it feels appropriate, in a moment where there is a LOT of overwhelm going around, and most people are over-full, to remind y'all that sometimes taking incremental steps towards the big-picture projects you are going towards is really, really, ok.

It doesn't always have to be the Next Big Thing All At Once. (And I know some of you are going through that moment right now, too!)

Each step counts, too.

NOT because each step gets you to where you want to go. I don't think life is quite like that. We don't know where all of our steps are taking us all the time. And besides, each step takes a lot of work, too!

So not only is it ok to take incremental steps.... but it is ok for each step to be sufficient in and of itself.

Probably, there is a lot more coming.

And if more doesn't come? Is this as good as it gets?

That's ok, too. It might even be great. The act of making this episode was really meaningful for those of us in it. I hope it’s meaningful for others too. But something has already happened, even before you listen to it, and that something is valuable in and of itself.

That's the thing that's easy to forget about journeys.

Every step counts for the step itself, not just the destination.

Enjoy your journey, whether the spiral is bringing you up or down, whatever step you may be on -

Sara Jolena

ps - I'm part of a super cool gathering with some amazing people hosted by Land Justice Futures! Wahoo! Please share! And a special July 4 gathering with us- check it out.

pps - We are going to host a Summer Circular Time offering at the end of July. SO MUCH is happening this year, and it's really important to take a moment this summer to do some reflection, recalibration, and reassessment. I'll have a special worksheet just for this.