Black lives matter. If that phrase “just doesn’t sit right” with you, know that you are part of the system we’re fighting against, one that doesn’t want us talking about the systemic racism our country is built on and still kills Black civilians to maintain. If you must, think of it as “Black lives ALSO matter.” “All lives matter” really means “let’s not talk about this and just maintain the status quo,” one in which police brutalize Black communities and kill Black people and face no repercussions, one in which Black people have by far the highest rates of incarceration and the longest sentences despite crimes being comparable with those committed by people of other races. One in which personal finance writers regularly compare debt to slavery, invalidating the generational trauma within Black communities, and no one bats an eyelash or calls them out. We can’t be silent. White people, we must do better. Look at who you follow on social. Is it all fellow white people? Diversify your feeds. Boost Black voices. Educate yourself. (How to Be an Antiracist, So You Want to Talk About Race, and White Fragility are three great books to get you started.) Donate money to causes supporting legal justice. Get out there and protest if you’re healthy enough to leave home and can maintain social distance. Talk to other white people you know. Call people out. If you see police interacting with a person of color, stop and be a witness, camera running, and intervene if need be. All of this may feel uncomfortable, but we have to do it anyway. Because black lives matter.
Deciding to garden this year has been the best decision I could’ve made. Now, instead of being sad that we can’t travel for who knows how long (years?), I’m excited to be home and to watch things grow. Gardening at altitude is a lot of work, and we are not going to get a vast amount of food out of our container garden, but it feels like doing something, and watching food emerge from tiny seeds I planted still feels like magic. It’s not too late to start growing something yourself, even if it’s just one small pot of herbs on a windowsill! 🌱
I may not be able to go outside much, and I might be alarmed by how close the neighbors all seem comfortable getting to one another, but at least I can create my own magic. Anything green that grows from a seed is creating something out of nothing, and feels like magic, even though I know it’s not. These microgreens are one of the many things I’ve grown lately, and in my stories today, I show you how to grow your own without buying a lot of stuff.
