Dear Friends and Allies,

Over the past week, as I surf the waves of emotion and attempt to discern among the suddenly increasing amount of email coming my way, in an effort to both delight myself and share the best of what I see with those I love, I’ve collected various clips, articles and essays I’ve found most enlivening, and supportive of context, meaning-making and narrative. I write to share these with you.

Please feel free to peruse them — or not — as your time and heart/mind permits. No expectation. I offer them in case they may be helpful, with no expectation or pressure, as I know how much this time is asking of so many of us. They are offered with love.

These are the most creative and life-affirming artful videos, featuring some of the best of human ingenuity, each <6 mins long:

• Exquisite Corps – 42 choreographers, 1 dance
• The Mushroom Hunters by Neil Gaiman, exquisite commentary on gender and science
• Lake Loop, a stunningly beautiful poem by Natalie Diaz, illustrated and put to music, featured by Maria Popova
• From Facebook, an Italian video re: msg from CoVid19, beautiful and thought provoking

Podcast Interviews on “What is Mine to Do?” with a wise elder/mentor:

This link is to a Charles Eisenstein interview with a longtime friend and mentor of mine, Gigi Coyle, on the topic of “What is Mine To Do?” I’ve not yet heard it, but knowing how wise Gigi’s perspectives are, I’ll commend it to you anyway, for those who feel curious and resonant with the question, or drawn to it as inspiration and a resource, and have the time to listen.

This is a selection of essays and interviews from my recent favorite synthesizer and meaning-maker, Bonnitta Roy:

First, her two essays (part one and part 2) on A Tale of Two Systems, to help remind us of larger context, followed by two video interviews of her, one nearly an hour, and the other 28 mins, for those who like to learn by watching/listening, rather than reading…the beginning of Interview 1 includes some about her Taoist perspective and farming life, which I found fascinating.

• A Tale of Two Systems, part 1
• A Tale of Two Systems, part 2
• Interview, part 1
• Interview, part 2

Two short pieces from Medium, from younger, more radical journalists, that I found worth reading:

• One in the frame of pandemic as collective, cultural initiatory descent, a narrative I find useful and relevant for now: Birth from the Second Womb
• And the other on a gendered analysis of our current economic paradigm: Why Male Economics is Dead And how Coronavirus Teaches us We Should all be Feminists

Ideas on Economic Ways Forward:

This reminds me of many of the ideas, projects and visions I’ve learned through Bioneers — freeing our imaginations to consider significantly new systems — like in Japan, where there’s an online barter system to exchange caring for elders in different places, or the idea of transforming post offices into a community banking system, or malls into community gardens, or many other economic innovations that could shift us meaningfully toward birthing something far closer to a democracy.

• Reframing Wealth in the 21 Century – a Roadmap to Sustainable Development – Joel Hodroff

Offered in kinship, and solidarity,

Nina Simons
Bioneers Co-Founder & Chief Relationship Officer