I'm passionate about helping people recognize their ecological awakening and supporting them on their EarthCare journey. I also love to talk about intersecting topics like ethical entrepreneurship, ecological design, grief, connection, being highly sensitive and cheese :) Sign up to get my weekly newsletter and learn about this and more!
Discuss this with me tonight?
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HEY Reader, Are you feeling less sharp and focused than ever? Well, I am! And I don't like it! I’ve been feeling brain foggy, challenged in my ability to focus, and more forgetful… …maybe it’s perimenopause (maybe it’s maybelline), but I think it’s also the inundation of so many kinds of new technology… (and maybe we are being gaslit by all these other diagnoses). A few months ago, I picked up this incredible book called Human Being by Graham Lee. In each chapter, Lee explores 12 vital skills we are losing to technology: Navigation, Motion, Conversation, Solitude, Reading, Writing, Art, Craft, Memory, Dreams, Thought, and Time He details the fascinating history, how that skill contributed to our story as such a unique species on this planet, and what we are LOSING as a result of adopting technologies we don’t fully understand (and don’t have long-term studies to reveal the dangers of). The book came into my life as I started to notice a rising surge of resistance toward new forms of technology (genAI) that are destroying our brains, bodies, and culture. In response, I started the Reclaim Your Vital Skills project, inspired by the book. So far, almost 50 people have already signed up! I’ve been watching this “progress” closely for the last 2 years, tuning into my body deeply in that timespan too, and it's become very clear that we are now at a significant pivot point in history. While some view humans as a plague on this planet, I’ve been coming home to what what we really are: We are stewards of the land.
We are balance-keepers.
We are innovators and explorers.
We are human for a reason.
And we must reclaim the vital skills we’re losing to technology, so that we can remember our role here and regenerate the life in our soil and our souls. This feels like a huge challenge right now with AI being shoved down our throats at every meal. So I’m doing something about it with my partner Tyler Yenna - the bird lover (read: good listener) and curious conversationalist. After 10 years in a relationship, and 7 as friends before that, we’ve come to realize we LOVE chatting with friends about these things. But we struggle to keep our plans when it’s just us, haha. You too? So we’re inviting you to join us so we actually show up to these conversations. And we’re excited to discover what you might contribute too. Stay human with us, Kendra (+ Tyler) PS. I am also hosting a live, in-person day retreat on 9/12 called Reclaim Your Voice with Sofia Dugas, global song leader, voice activation coach and friend. This event is near Harrisburg, PA. Together we will reconnect with our voices through song, movement, journaling, time in Nature, and shared meals. The “singing wound” will be addressed and we will seek to connect more deeply with our purpose for being human in this planet in the polycrisis. These moments of physical presence, vocal expression and sitting with our “purpose” are what we need more than ever in our modern culture. Learn more and register here (and bring a friend). PPS. Reclaim 12 Vital Skills with us and join us for FREE LIVE calls! Forward this email, share the sign up link (here), and tell your friends to STAY HUMAN WITH US! Just two little humans, trying to find purpose in the polycrisis - Kendra Marie Hoffman (+ Tyler Yenna)
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EarthCare Matters by Kendra Hoffman
I'm passionate about helping people recognize their ecological awakening and supporting them on their EarthCare journey. I also love to talk about intersecting topics like ethical entrepreneurship, ecological design, grief, connection, being highly sensitive and cheese :) Sign up to get my weekly newsletter and learn about this and more!
"I don't even want to touch that kind of grief, and I've seen it all." My head turned slowly to the elder sitting beside me. Her voice was solemn, so serious it almost scared me. We were sitting at a dinner table, with about 9 of the 52 humans who had just spent a week singing together at a beautiful retreat center in the eastern woodlands of New York state. Conversation was circling round as we each shared what we do…besides singing! I said that I am an ecological consultant, write a...
Are you afraid to open your voice around others, Reader? I was (and still am a bit!). This is one of the biggest blocks to our freedom. For 22 years I was shut down to all forms of singing around others after being told by a friend I was off key. This was after many “accomplishments” with my voice in high school as a member of an elite traveling paid choir and a soloist (despite raging anxiety every time)! It affected way more than just my ability to sing. It affected the way I communicated...
A few years ago, Tyler (my beloved partner) and I were visiting friends who have walked the road of life for much longer than we have yet (and are deeply tied to the land). This wiser couple was laughing and tenderly responding to each other, while also having critical moments that didn’t hold resentment, just a practical respect and openness to each other’s needs and moments of truth. We loved what we were witnessing, so we asked them what they thought were some of the most important things...