Hi! I just came across your Substack and I think this is a great post. I’ve had a lot of thoughts about the online world (and all of it is negative) this year and how much of our lives are algorithmically dictated. It’s so exhausting, depressing, and as you say, doesn’t do much to move the needle on real world problems.
We get so hung up on awareness that we forget about any real work in making our lives more fulfilling or the world a better place. It’s because we’ve been conditioned to think sharing an infographic and signing a petition is enough because it’s what we’re fed, it’s easy to do, and gives us a little bit of dope to tell us “good job” for the barest of minimums.
With the way social platforms tend to create echo chambers, it’s kind of comical seeing people post about politics as if it’s meant for the noble cause of awareness or swaying people when they’re just sharing the same thing everyone else on their feed is, in some way, ad nauseam. It’s not convincing when everyone’s already convinced and we can only do enough so that our navels are properly gazed.
Love this piece--reminded me of a dear friend I lost last year to cancer, how she tended to her garden and the animals she lived with and most of all the people in her life.
I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing this. It reminds me to tend to that which is closest to me, and sometimes, strangely, the easiest to ignore. ❤️
Yes! I have been trying to orient myself towards being more grounded in my immediate surroundings and community—this all in order to tend, to attend, to those around me.
And it echoes your sentiments, of grounding ourselves in what we can actually attend to, letting go of “changing the world,” in favor of smaller, more human-scaled actions.
Hi! I just came across your Substack and I think this is a great post. I’ve had a lot of thoughts about the online world (and all of it is negative) this year and how much of our lives are algorithmically dictated. It’s so exhausting, depressing, and as you say, doesn’t do much to move the needle on real world problems.
We get so hung up on awareness that we forget about any real work in making our lives more fulfilling or the world a better place. It’s because we’ve been conditioned to think sharing an infographic and signing a petition is enough because it’s what we’re fed, it’s easy to do, and gives us a little bit of dope to tell us “good job” for the barest of minimums.
With the way social platforms tend to create echo chambers, it’s kind of comical seeing people post about politics as if it’s meant for the noble cause of awareness or swaying people when they’re just sharing the same thing everyone else on their feed is, in some way, ad nauseam. It’s not convincing when everyone’s already convinced and we can only do enough so that our navels are properly gazed.
Thank you for this. I love the concept of tending. It is simple yet deep. It feels caring like a hug. It is grace in action.
To tend - we tend to our people all day long and we forget how beautifully powerful this is. And how powerful this essay is. Thank you!
Thank you!
Tend... I have not been trending to the things that truly matter lately. ♥️
This is so beautiful and profound. I wish for everyone to read and pay attention. Thanks so much for sharing this.
Thank you for the note! ❤️
This brought tears to my eyes in a period of my life where I feel pointlessness and futility.
Wow this is beautiful. I want to be more in touch with the people who see the same trees as me!
Same! ❤️
Love this piece--reminded me of a dear friend I lost last year to cancer, how she tended to her garden and the animals she lived with and most of all the people in her life.
I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing this. It reminds me to tend to that which is closest to me, and sometimes, strangely, the easiest to ignore. ❤️
Yes! I have been trying to orient myself towards being more grounded in my immediate surroundings and community—this all in order to tend, to attend, to those around me.
I read this quotation: ‘Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree’ from another Substack post: https://dougald.substack.com/p/i-would-plant-my-apple-tree
And it echoes your sentiments, of grounding ourselves in what we can actually attend to, letting go of “changing the world,” in favor of smaller, more human-scaled actions.
This is so wonderful Sarah, thank you.