Finding Steady Ground
We navigate our way through a rapidly changing landscape
This newsletter arriving in your inbox is one of many tentative steps toward finding steady ground in a rapidly shifting landscape. We wish you a warm welcome, wherever you are, wherever we’re headed. We’re in this together.
I’ve been appreciating this curated Substack landscape where I’ve found some kindred spirits and some helpful resources during this troubling time. For example, Anya Kamenetz recently offered some helpful, and might I say mindful advice about how to take in the firehose of news that’s coming at us wisely while caring for our well-being. I would recommend reading her full post to get all the details - and certainly do subscribe as she offers many great insights.
It will come as no surprise to those of us with a contemplative practice that Anya’s first suggestion was to check in with our feelings when taking in news. Emotions are signals letting us know there is something worthy of investigation - and that it might be a good idea to do so before taking further action. She then advised as a second step to skip the hype and disinformation, which are a waste of our energy. Her third step was to discern how to allocate the limited resource of our attention by essentially connecting with what resonates with our deepest values; what matters most. Anya said she personally focuses on what she calls “events with real impacts on real people”. Then as a fourth step she advised investigating what is being done about the situation and thinking about how you can support the efforts. As a final step, she advised being intentional about your boundaries, such as curating your feed, unfollowing unreliable sources, and exchanging reliable information with your communities.
There are so many gems like this to explore on Substack. We provide recommendations on our publication page. But, if you’re feeling a little lost or intimidated by yet another platform, I get it. At the end of this newsletter I will provide some explanation about our move here and some basic instruction about how to navigate Substack.
The Imperative of Community
The week before the inauguration a group of us retreated to the Tallgrass Prairie, which in retrospect was perfect timing (paid subscribers can read more intimately and view a video). Some of us also celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day together with the Heartland Conservation Alliance - an incredibly uplifting experience.
Both of these experiences shared something in common that I and many others believe is necessary for well-being - the capacity to turn toward and metabolize difficult truths and experiences, which often comes from sharing grief and joy in community.
It may become increasingly difficult for us to connect in community though if our usual modes of communication and public spaces are made inhospitable, inaccessible or unsafe.
Our community of contemplative teachers resolved to meet regularly in the flesh to celebrate and grieve together, support one another, build courage, stay strong in our practice, and to explore ways to resist harm and thrive in these challenging times.
Our meetings will be based very loosely on Daniel Hunter's Finding Steady Ground resilience principles and other resources - things like trusting and being trustworthy, releasing what cannot be changed, learning new skills, finding our path, understanding the dynamics of power, imagining, envisioning, and sharing what works. This is how we hope to adapt, sustain, and continue to serve amidst adversity.
In the spirit of mutuality, let’s commit to sharing some of the ways we’re finding steady ground here. In the meantime, I hope to see you in the practice space soon.
- Tracy
Upcoming Offerings
Introduction to the Designing Your Life Process with Jeanie Bunker Saturday February 15, 2025 at 10 am – 1 pm online
Spring Renewal Retreat with the MAM Team Saturday March 1, 2025 at Hollis Renewal Center
Unshakable Confidence: a DIY Guide with Pam Hausner & Tracy Ochester
Tuesdays Mar 25 – Apr 29 at 6-8 pm Online
Recommended Resources & Happenings
Know Your Rights - Immigration Law Center
Find and contact elected officials - from usa.gov
The Resilient Activist - the next Climate Cafe is Jan. 27 at 6 pm online
Recovery Meditation Thursdays at 9 am at AIMwell Yoga with Nettie Zan
Non-Binary Panel discussion on Saturday, Mar. 8 from 3-5 pm at InterUrban ArtHouse
Why We Moved to Substack
Like many people I have always had an ambivalent relationship with social media. It’s been the only affordable way to effectively get the word out about what our community does in the world, so I’ve worked with it the best I can. I have no love for it though, so as soon as there was a rumor that Musk would buy Twitter, I left it.
The constant dance of updating Facebook privacy settings and the byzantine task of recovering or removing an elder's compromised profile has been off-putting. Recently it’s been tiring to click the “see less of this” drop down to rid my feed of constant ads and strange AI generated photos. I decided this year to move away from using Meta because of its very public and deliberate stance regarding hate speech around gender and sexual orientation.
Though there are many Twitter-like alternatives, there are no other free platforms that do what Facebook does and have eliminated its problems. Substack comes closer. It offers users the option of a Facebook like “Home feed” with more privacy and control. Yet it has its issues. While it has content guidelines, they are very minimal. I appreciate that users have more agency over what appears in their feed. I’m also excited that Substack offers an opportunity for connecting in a more intimate way.
This platform offers many ways to communicate. In addition to the Facebook-like feed that many people are familiar with and seem to enjoy, there is a newsletter or blog format free from the significant fees that Mailchimp imposed. This is one of my happy places - writing and reading as pathways of understanding. Because I love a good listen, I appreciate that we can add our voices and sound effects to what we create. There are also opportunities for podcasting and videography.
Getting Started on Substack
You don’t have to sign up to browse Substack. In fact, many of you have probably already been reading newsletters through Substack that have been coming into your email inboxes for years now.
If you have a Substack account, you can view the feed on your “Home” page (see picture below). The top row of your feed includes the people you subscribe to. There are no ads. Below that row you will see posts from people you follow - they may also post things from people they follow and that may appear in your feed. You can unfollow, mute, block, or report people by clicking on the three dots on the right hand corner of the post (circled in red in photo). Just click on the “What’s on your mind?” dialogue box to post things like you would on Facebook. People can like (heart) your post, “restack” it (share with subscribers/followers), or the up arrow gives more possibilities for sharing. You can choose using a dropdown menu who can comment below your posts. Substack has an app (which I haven’t used yet).
Substack also offers the ability for commenting on posts and chatting. While I truly hope folks will use these features, I’m initially opting to limit them to subscribers only. My hope is this might prevent some of the impulsive and harmful behavior that has made other platforms so problematic. Connecting more intimately is important to me though. So, if it becomes a barrier to dialogue, I may reconsider.