Where's Wicks? Hunkered Down!
Dear friends,
I began sending out “Where’s Wicks?” seven years ago when I was traveling on my book tour. My life has changed, not just because of the pandemic, but also because I have re-focused my work locally. I plan to continue “Where’s Wicks?” but the answer will most likely be “at home.” I no longer have a hunger for traveling. I don’t want to spend the carbons – or the dollars, but mostly it’s because I’m much more interested in my own community than someplace else. Besides, home is where the fun is!
"Will you seek afar off? You surely come back at last,
In things best known to you finding the best, or as good as the best,
In folks nearest to you finding the sweetest, strongest, lovingest,
Happiness, knowledge, not in another place but this place,
Not for another hour but this hour." Walt Whitman
Going forward, my theme for Where’s Wicks? will be about home – about growing deeper in our places, looking out for each other, building local economies that work for all of us, valuing the eco-systems that sustain our lives, enriching community life, and growing our sense of belonging and collective joy. I look forward to the day it will be safe for us to eat, drink, and dance together. How I miss that!
The quarantine might also provide the opportunity to come home to who we really are, what we truly value, and how we might re-engage with greater mindfulness about how our economic decisions collectively shape the world we live in.
At All Together Now PA, we are asking these basic questions: Where does our food come from? Our energy? Our water? Our clothes? Where does our waste go? How can we work together to transform these systems to better meet the needs of all, while working in alignment with nature?
The pandemic has many messages for us. One is that we need to build resilient local food systems, and not sit waiting for distant industrial farms to make a delivery because it may never arrive. And if it does, it will likely not be as healthy as food grown by our local farmers.
Below I am sharing my recent blog post from All Together Now PA with stories about the resilience of our regional food system:
Whether you live as I do in Pennsylvania, or elsewhere, the same opportunities can apply.
I invite you to join us on this journey to better know, serve and enjoy the places where we have made our homes. Here's to good food, health, and happiness for all.
