Hello wonderful friends and family! Abbey here. I decided to create an every-so-often email newsletter to send life updates, inspiration, and photos. I hope this is a way we can keep in touch and you can send me back whatever is inspiring you right now.

Life update #1:  I moved to the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) in Sonoma, CA this past month! OAEC is a 25-year-old center for sustainable agriculture and environmental activism. I'm working as a host for activist groups that come to strategize and enjoy the beautiful garden, meeting spaces, and trails. I've also been helping plant strawberries, asparagus, and other beauties in the garden, teaching yoga, and working in the farm-to-table kitchen. I live in a sweet cabin with a wood burning stove nestled in a forest of Redwoods and California Live Oak trees.  You can learn more about OAEC here! Transitioning to a new place and being cross country from my family and many close friends was tough at first and I definitely miss my NC roots. But I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be here. I feel so healed by breathing the fresh air, eating straight-from-the-garden food, digging my hands in the soil, and being part of this loving community.  I am learning what it feels like to live fully. I feel my work is purposeful and engaged with the transition the world needs right now. There is so much political and environmental instability, we need to imagine and live out a future we want to be part of. I imagine a future full of natural spaces to explore, art and creative expression, community meals and living, movement and dance incorporated into our day to day, and food rich with life.  Before arriving at OAEC, I had no idea how much of my identity rests in being independent. I tend to have a few-strings-attached mentality and like to think I can do it "all on my own". From getting myself where I need to be, to working on projects, to traveling, I often go at it solo. Until being out here really on my own and without a car, I didn't realize how much I lean on community for support. In mainstream US culture, we are taught not to ask for help, not to seem weak, and not to be a burden on others. Since being here, I've had to ask for help CONSTANTLY. "Hey, can you drive me to the grocery store?" "Hey, I have no idea how to get wood for my wood burning stove". While I felt super awkward at first, I am realizing people generally enjoy helping each other out, and I'm making close friends by hopping in many a car ride with co-workers. I realize I was never really alone before either. There are always people there to keep me company, make sure I'm fed and have everything I need, make sure spaces around me are clean and beautiful, and ensure light, water, food, electricity, etc. are available. We are so dependent on one another! So a challenge for the week- ask for something you need or invite yourself to something even if it makes you feel awkward and uncomfortable. Shamelessly inviting myself along has brought me to many a random hike, art event, mosaic-building project, and concert these past few weeks.

Lessons from the Dandelion

 

My heart is full of so much gratitude for the stories of hope and inspiration many of you have shared- poems, prayers, yoga classes, art, podcasts and calls in this strange and unsettling time. I have been hesitant to write an Abbey Joy newsletter because I know our inboxes are overloaded, and I've been feeling much happier when I completely turn off my phone/email and run to the outdoors. But I feel called to share a lesson from the abundance of dandelions popping up around the gardens here.  I was recently reminded of activist Joanna Macy's work, called the "Cycle that Reconnects". As you can see in the image below, she suggests we can create social change through the powerful circle of expressing gratitude, honoring our pain, seeing with new eyes, and going forth.

The last few weeks have brought many pains to light- the pains of isolation, grief, fear, and frustration. I feel extremely lucky to be in one of the most regenerative places imaginable on this abundant farm, but can't help from breaking into tears with feelings of sadness for everyone suffering in this time. I have been reminding myself to honor this sadness rather than push it away. We must be willing to feel grief fully before she will carry on.  The beautiful counterpart to a good crying session, is the clarity that follows. Like the moment the sun breaks through the rolling fog here, I feel moments of intense inspiration. "I must create art!" or "go make soup for the community" my heart shouts. In these moments of inspiration I see the possibility for a more beautiful world.  I see communities connected by cooking and caring for one another. I imagine us having time to care for our bodies with good food, gardening, long walks, and time in the fresh air. I imagine the potential for more meaningful conversations, like the ones I've been having the last few days because I'm not rushing off to the next "to-do". I imagine everyone cultivating work they enjoy and rich hobbies. I hope for collective child-caring where everyone in the community takes part in educating and nurturing the young, sharing the skills they have honed from years of intentional practice. I visualize a health care system focused on preventative care and care for those who are most vulnerable. And I see us all finding our necessary and inspired role in this collective.  Let's use this immense pause to CHOOSE the future we desire. Make a vision board, write a letter to your future self, honor your grief with art or song.  I love that Joanna Macy's work that reconnects takes the shape of a dandelion because these plants are sprouting EVERYWHERE right now. Many consider them to be weeds, but the herbalist knows dandelions possess some of the most potent plant medicine. Dandelion greens contain vitamins A, C, K, B, magnesium, potassium, iron, and calcium. The flowers are known to help detoxify the liver, speed metabolism, and decrease inflammation. Research also show dandelion's antiviral and antimicrobial properties help boost the immune system and fight illness. You can also build lung capacity by making wishes on the puffs! I am learning that often "weeds" are our most powerful allies. The most stubborn, rampant, wild plants are packed with nutrients because they have adapted to be resilient. My suggestion is we all embody our inner dandelion this week. Be stubborn for what you believe in. Shed brightness and light wherever you go (even if only over Zoom). Grow strong roots in this time of introspection and slowing down. Get outside in nature every chance you have (dandelions are always popping up through the cracks). And be a healer for others- send cards, prayers, and love.  Thank you for all you do! You are a gift! You are part of nature! You are resilient! With so much love and healing wishes,  Abbey <3

From Solitary to Solidarity

 

Thank you to everyone for all the bday love, I am feeling the energy of a new year and hope it’s a time of spring creativity & life for you too! A few updates in this email: Zoom yoga continues, fundraiser success, gardening & planting, and moving from Solitary to Solidarity

Also, thanks for all who Zoom Yoga last week or contributed to the solidarity with undocumented farmworkers fund! I received $300 in Venmo donations for the UnDocufund of Sonoma, CA and Student Action with Farmworkers. My heart is so full of gratitude for the people growing our food! I will be offering Zoom Yoga this week as well!  Wednesday & Saturday at 12 PM EST:  https://zoom.us/j/922397417?pwd=RW5DZlRjSWFMTDczRVFyS09SRkFYdz09

I am particularly inspired by the ways people get creative in times of crisis. Many of the most resilient and resourceful people I know are those who aren’t necessarily monetarily rich, but have a rich connection to the Earth, growing food, and their communities. Often crisis shows us how we can be more intentional and better caretakers with what we have available.  Here at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, we have shifted in this time of change to Drive-Thru plant sales! It harkens to my days of lemonade sales, Hunger Lunches, and CKesadilla nights ( my deepest gratitude to everyone I coerced to make, sell or buy $2 quesadillas at 2 AM). I am feeling so inspired by the number of people buying plant starts, particularly of food and medicinal crops, from us. This is part of the world I am imagining! One where people can affordably and easily buy onions, lettuce and tomato plants rather than cheap burgers!   Take some time this week to plant something! Check out our nursery page for inspiration: oaec.org/plant-nursery  & my mom's cute garden below!

How can we move from solitary to solidarity?   As I think many of us are realizing, humans are not intended to exist in isolation. We all depend upon one another for joy, laughter, encouragement, food, healthcare, prayer, child care, and the list goes on and on!   Our system is generally one of independence, promoting that people can “make it on their own”. We applaud those who seem to have it all figured out, who can care for themselves. The reality is, however, that this illusion of separateness is not only false, but makes us feel vulnerable, isolated, and scared.    We need one another! We need the Earth, we need our bodies, we need collective care and collective action. Our deepest joy comes from playing a role in the interconnected weave of life.    I encourage you this week to seek ways to be in solidarity with others, even if from 6 feet or more away: support the Earth by planting food crops or pollinator flowers Support your friends by writing letters or calling Google your favorite organizations and read what they need right now, and how you can contribute your time and resources Plan something fun for the people you’re stuck with :) : a fancy dinner, a spa night Support inspirational artists, musicians, and authors by buying their work Finally, I HIGHLY recommend this podcast from For the Wild with extraordinary doctor, musician and social justice warrior, Rupa Marya who talks about healing, community medicine, and the way forward in these confusing times.

WITH LOVE FROM THE GARDEN XO ABBEY

Creating a New Reality

 

Maybe this is the time we create the culture we've always hoped for in the US.  The last couple weeks, I've found myself uplifted and healed by family, phone calls, dance, painting, cooking, yoga, gardening, song, and connecting to the natural world around me.  This newsletter is full of a few of my favorite sources of inspiration right now.

I have had the extraordinary gift of working in the OAEC gardens throughout my time here and seeing the winter soils emerge with an overwhelming array of colors, flowers, and life. One of my favorite parts of tending to the gardens are the conversations with the garden managers and interns as we weed, plant, and water. Last week, we came to the topic of love. You know, a casual Wednesday morning conversation. I asked each person if they had ever fallen in love and how they knew. Michelle, the garden manager's, answer has stuck with me, finding resonance in many arenas of my life.  Michelle explained that love is like a dance. When you first meet your partner, everything is exciting and new as you figure out how to move with one another. After a few months, the dance can stagnate. What is comfortable becomes boring. At this point we crave something EXCITING! FUN! The simplest way is to find someone or something new. The challenge is to learn how to keep dancing where we are with the people we're with. How do we infuse the mundane with new energy? How do we find lightness in the heavy? How do we find creativity from what our eyes have grown accustomed to seeing?  In these times of quarantine, I find myself craving the next adventure! The next most exciting thing. The challenge is to create the culture that US culture, with its busyness and stress, generally lacks. I am not saying this is a naturally carefree time. Just the opposite. But we are learning to work the muscle of finding joy when our surroundings may otherwise seem bleak. We are learning skills for resilience. We are learning the songs, dances, food, and people that get us through tough times. We are learning to simultaneously grow roots downwards and flowers upwards.  HERE'S SOME OF WHAT'S INSPIRING ME! Yoga with community has been an amazing way to stay joyful and connected! Join me Weds and Sat at 9 AM EST: zoom.us/u/ad9kJwA6yM I am also extraordinarily grateful to my friend Gareth Dicker, who recently recorded this truth-filled song: Mama Gaia. " "Do we love the living breathing being we’re on? Apparently not, our planet, our parent we treat wrong. We the people could change this, pick up the song We used to sing to each other in another eon. Mythologies can pivot, the plot is not rehearsed. Do we cause cataclysms in a cold universe And operate as separate and spread that curse Or do we pause in this path, realign and reverse? I am also super inspired by the "Gangsta Gardener", Rob Finley, who attended a Permaculture Design Course here at OAEC and, "has set about revolutionizing attitudes to gardening in inner city areas".  I'll leave you with this quote:  "The first commandment of economics is: Grow. Grow forever. Companies get bigger. National economies need to swell by a certain percent each year. People should want more, make more, earn more, spend more - ever more. The first commandment of the Earth is: enough. Just so much and no more. Just so much soil. Just so much water. Just so much sunshine. Everything born of the Earth grows to its appropriate size and then stops." - Donella Meadows, Co-Author, Limits to Growth ALL MY LOVE!! Keep dancing. XOXO Abbey Joy

Fire & Water

 

I've been learning a lot of lessons from the water lilies at the pond...  About two weeks ago, the barn here at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center burned down. Gratefully, all the people and animals are safe, but it was an extremely shocking and fear-inducing event. I can feel my body and mind coming back to equilibrium, much in part thanks to the incredible love of community near and far, writing, movement, and spending time in nature.

In this time of global fear and healing, the water lilies have a lot to teach. They are connected to one another by an extraordinary web of underwater roots. From the surface it looks like each flower and lily pad is disconnected, but they all share nutrients from the same root system. I watch as the lily flowers sit on the water surface, opening and closing with the sun. They have mastered the art of balance, knowing when to protect themselves from the elements, and when to spread their petals broadly.  I have been reflecting on my own need to go within in order to process my emotions of grief for Covid, the barn, and missing family and friends. I have been learning to draw from my roots and from my personal strength in trying times. I have also seen the importance of drawing on the collective resources of our community root system- the phone calls, letters, fundraisers, sharing, and prayers that physically and emotionally support us all.  Finally, I have learned the importance of opening my arms wide to the sun & embrace moments of joy when they arrive:  watching sunflower seeds sprout, giving a gift, or even laughing at the absurdity of breaking another glass.  I love how every single day, I get to witness the rebirth of the lilies. Every day, they re-emerge, both soaking up energy from the sun and offering their beauty.  It's made me think about what I offer to the world. And also helped me see that the more we open ourselves up, the more we receive back.  I still feel fear and grief and homesickness at times. But I have also never felt so certain of how much people show up for one another in times of challenge.  This week, I encourage you to find that balance between inward reflection and outward connection. What are the ways you can nourish yourself? What are the ways you can nourish others? If there's some way I can support you please reach out!!! Here are some of my favorite little inspirational tidbits from the week:  Water is so important! We are all connected. An amazing short video on re-imagining the future.  Finally, a beautiful word I recently learned:  So much love!! Abbey <3

Love & Justice

 

I write to you holding so much in my heart. Along with many of us, I write with heaviness of heart from ongoing police brutality and racial injustice. I hold the anger about our economic, health care, (in)justice, and education systems. I hold the bewilderment of diving deeper into the history of the US and how systematically black, brown, and indigenous people have been exploited, killed, and pushed out of their homes. I hold the anguish that I have not done more and am often not sure what to do.  I am distraught that our environment, our animals, our fellow humans are being killed senselessly by a system designed to maximize efficiency and profit, a system based off of slavery. We have been blinded to how all the various forms of exploitation and extinction are interconnected. Our disconnection from the Earth and our disconnection from one another, driven by Western, white corporations, makes it almost impossible to see the path forward. But I am also filled with inspiration. I am deeply moved by the black and brown people leading the revolution for change. My heart is filled with gratitude for the indigenous and people of color around the world fighting for a more just and alive world for all of us. The people fighting to protect the rainforests, the people fighting to end police brutality, the people fighting to eliminate plastics, the people fighting to stop construction of new oil pipelines, the people fighting to change history books... we are all fighting for freedom. We are all fighting for life.  Tomorrow is June Nineteenth, a holiday commemorating the day in 1865 people experiencing slavery in Galveston, Texas were informed of the Emancipation Proclamation... two and a half years AFTER it was signed. It is a day to celebrate freedom. And also a reminder of our country’s deep resistance to the true liberation and inclusion of Black people.  In honor of June Nineteenth, the Movement for Black Lives has put forth 3 main demands (including Defunding the police, supporting black communities, and impeaching Donald Trump). I have attached their movement messaging below and hope you take the time to read it. Though the demands may seem radical, they show us what the true liberation of all people might look like. They help us question what safety, belonging, and government can be in the US and around the world.  I encourage you, and myself, to show up for protests, to donate, to make art, to continue educating ourselves, and to show up for the black and brown people in our communities. In protecting and advocating for black lives, we are taking necessary steps towards our collective freedom.  I will be teaching two yoga classes this weekend: Saturday at 12 PM EST and Sunday at 4 PM EST. We all need some collective care more than ever. All donations will go to the Movement for Black Lives.  Saturday:zoom.us/j/809218227?pwd=U21nN0tiZjRGN3JyMTlqK0pkdmFBZz09 Sunday: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2263091734

With so much love and solidarity <3 Abbey This is an AMAZING video from the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center about our Permaculture for the People program. Get excited about radical gardening!! Juneteenth Call To Action OAEC aligns with the following demands and principles that come directly from the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) around the upcoming Juneteenth weekend. We urge you to read and get behind them too. In addition to showing up in the streets if you can, one of M4BL’s calls is to support the movement financially. OAEC is making a contribution and we encourage you to do so as well. From M4BL’s SixNineteen.com:  The Context  The deaths of Black people by law enforcement and vigilantes is the result of centuries-old anti-Black attitudes flanked by prejudicial legislation and a “Wild Wild West” approach to law and order meant to intimidate Black people and control our behavior. Many elements—such as racist stereotypes, stand-your-ground laws, law enforcement and vigilantism that have treated Black people with a guilty-until-proven innocent approach, and antiquated policing systems with roots in slave catching—coalesce to create a network of deadly terror for Black communities nationwide. This network, compounded by a criminal legal system with a history of antipathy toward us, wreaks havoc on Black bodies like George, Ahmaud, and Breonna. Right now, uprisings are taking place in all 50 states, and more than two-thirds of Americans agree that police violence is systemic. We haven’t experienced mass mobilizations like this since the uprisings led by courageous Black folks in Ferguson and St. Louis. These actions include small towns, as well as major cities in both red and blue regions.The energy is sustained and escalating. The Movement for Black Lives is alive and vibrant.   What is Juneteenth About?  Juneteenth is a nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the US. To many black Americans, it is seen as more important than the Fourth of July. On June 19, 1865 a group of over 250,000 enslaved black people were notified that the Civil War had ended, of which they were unaware. Many confederate states were not adhering to the Emancipation Proclamation to maintain their control. It has now become a day, week, or month of celebrations, actions, gatherings and events organized by Black folks for Black liberation. The Plan Juneteenth is a day that honors Black freedom and Black resistance, and centers Black people’s unique contribution to the struggle for justice in the U.S. This Juneteenth is a rare moment for our communities to proclaim in one voice that Black Lives Matter, and that we won’t tolerate anything less than justice for all our people. M4BL Demands Defund the police. Over time, police budgets have steadily grown as local towns and cities experience budgetary shortfalls for critical resources like public education, houselessness, and mental health. With outsized budgets, this positions police to fill gaps left by a lack of other services. This also brings police, who have a history of using deadly force against Black people, in closer proximity to our children, neighbors, and communities. Today, police budgets account for 25 percent and higher of all local budgets. Given that we’re in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression now is the time to scrutinize police budgets; rethink the role of the police; and center our health, safety, and well-being. We need bold, visionary action right now. Much has been made of reintroducing existing use-of-force regulations as a potential way forward to end police violence. Regulations are important, as they can function as a guide for police departments of any size or scale. But we cannot be more clear: They are insufficient as a solution to the problem of police violence, either incrementally or as a tool of transformation. Invest in Black communities. The record unemployment our nation is currently experiencing comes at the tail end of decades of disinvestment in Black communities and Black people. It is time to make real investments in our communities. That means diverting wasteful spending on militarized police and investing in community-based programs like healthcare, education, and housing that we know keep us safer, allow us to thrive, and preserve our dignity. Call for the resignation of Donald Trump. Donald Trump has a long history of racism, division, fear mongering, and the weaponization of hate. From calling for the execution of innocent Black boys dubbed the Central Park Five in the 80s to defending murderous white supremacists in Charlottesville to using racist political messaging to support his reelection, Trump has continually put our families in danger and rolled back the rights of marginalized groups. His recent declaration, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” has put every protestor at risk. Trump and his administration have brought harm, suffering, and divisiveness, and it is time for him to resign.