The Substack Symbiocene

good god you're beautiful

“The impact of shouting from the rooftops when you discover a writer who makes your heart sing or inspires you, who shows you what’s possible, is massive. When you celebrate them you spread the love and that’s not a figure of speech, that’s a literal translation of what happens. The world becomes a better place. Your world and theirs.

- Feasts and Fables

Until I discovered Substack, reading and writing were solo endeavors.

Written words were tucked away into forgotten folders. Treasured books, read under a blanketed dark womb, and then abandoned lifeless on a shelf—only their characters lived on in memory like long-lost friends.

Never did I ever think writing and reading could be so immediate and intimate; a sharing or a reading within hours or days becomes a conversation, a hug delivered on soft consonants, quips that loop laughter all day long, a teary joining of minds. And though I can’t even put face to most in this community of soul friends, each transcends time and space—five-dimensional beings that curl and swirl into omnipresence; they reside within, beyond, and are yet more real, nourishing and delightful than a toasted cheese sandwich.

Substack community, you’ve turned this introvert into someone who loves to party; and while it has no balloons or bounds, our party’s last call is the apocalypse and we’ll be deejayed out by birdsong.

So today, a toast. An honoring of the readers and writers who have not been accessories to my memoir-writing-sharing journey but as integral as nutrient-bestowing soil. Without you, this timid sprout, would’ve withered into meaninglessness—a story surrendered to the millions of other stories of a lifetime, lived and then forgotten. Now, this tiny sprout looks up at a tall, exalted wilderness of song. Good god you’re beautiful.

I bow to you, and in no particular order because this forest is from the Symbiocene—as the brilliant Veronika Bond theorizes, “Anthropocentric thinking is built on hierarchy, supremacy, competition, and survival of the fittest with a focus on perfection and control. The structure of the symbiocentric mind is rooted in heterarchy, symbiogenesis, synergy, cooperation with a focus on regeneration and sustainability.”

An imperishable thank you,

Chloe Hope Jenovia Kim Van Bruggen Bertus <Mary L. Tabor> Mr. Troy Ford Nathan Slake Lor Jen Gatz Janet Ohanesian Veronika Bond David E. Perry Renée Eli, Ph.D. Alisa Kennedy Jones Grace Denali Dragonfly Adam Nathan Ben Wakeman Holly Starley Maddie Burton Susie Mawhinney Tara Penry Jane Ratcliffe E.T. Allen John LovieThe Rewind Michael Edward Nadia Gerassimenko Micah van Schalkwyk Eleanor Anstruther Donna McArthur Luke Harold Dr. Kathleen Waller j.e. moyer, LPC Mya Dexter Maurice Clive Bisby Kate Mapother Jenna Newell Hiott Jan Cornall Nance Warner Thaissa Lara Gail Forrest Rain appleton king Dawn Kimble Shaler Wright Retta V Kelly Pratt Toni Prehoda Kahler Sarah Fay | Less of More Sarah Elizabeth Joyce Wycoff Christine Wolf Jen Cantwell Patris Rex Wiig Sarah Copeland Amy - The Tonic The Naked Page Hannah Anstee Deborah T. Hewitt Linda HoenigsbergChristy CegelskiDaphne Berryhill Satya Robyn Safar Fiertze James Warner Elizabeth Hamilton Kevin Costello Nicola Corl Laurie Michaels jenn Coffee with a Mom Nicole Foos capturedbycindi Susan Hamilton Unremembered Tim McLaughlin Jeneye Abele Kellie Rae Theiss Gabe Chikes Paul Burnside Kitty Alaily Allison in Oregon Ken Riddle Corine Couturier Lili Allegra Huston

…and to the many others not here on Substack but are alive and thriving in my heart.

a forest of kindness, synergy and seasons

And now for a little fun. I have yet to land on a title for my memoir; Unfixed has always felt more like a working title. Want to throw your idea into a hat?

Here are some current possibilities. And while it’s water-heavy, feel free to think outside the basin. :) And if you need a refresh, here’s a book-jacket summary.

Unfixed: When Brokenness is the Fix

Lost and Found at Sea

In Search of Calm Waters

Water’s Way