October New Moon

a Lucy update, Hurricane relief, and more...

Aspen Vista, Santa Fe National Forest / photo: Kristina Markey

October 2, 2024 / New Moon

It’s autumn and it’s gorgeous here in Northern New Mexico! How is it where you live?

A number of things are floating through my heart/mind so in place of the usual 3 Good Things new moon missive, I’m using today’s message for downloading these from my brain to you.

Lucy

For those of you who read my September full moon post about my dear pup Lucy, an update is in order. First, I am so grateful to the many of you who took time to leave comments or to write to me personally with caring notes. That meant the world to me.

A few days after I wrote that piece, Lucy gradually started to eat more, albeit only with a lot of tricks. (I learned about tripe! Oh my goodness!) Over this past week, her eating and her energy have gotten much closer to normal. Really she’s made a remarkable comeback – yet again. Here’s video proof:

She’d like me to tell you that she appreciates all your love and prayers, and that she was simply doing a Gandhi imitation that week but somehow I didn’t get the memo.

Hurricane Relief

The folks in Asheville and the rural mountain areas of North Carolina are very much in my heart this week, including several friends who live there. If you sign up for a paid annual subscription to The Practice of Life from now until October 31, I will donate 50% of the net amount I receive to relief efforts for our relatives living in regions impacted by Hurricane Helene. On the recommendation of a trusted friend who lives in Asheville, I’ll be donating to BeLoved Asheville. We need each other to get through these times.

And more paying it forward…

Speaking of giving back, my other Substack — Postcards of New Mexico — is also based on this model. In acknowledgement of living on un-ceded Tewa lands, I donate 10% of net proceeds from paid subscriptions of that publication to Native-led nonprofit organizations in this region. People seem to really enjoy Postcards from New Mexico so if you haven’t seen it yet, c’mon over and check it out!

All to say if you appreciate the efforts I put into writing and creating both of these newsletters, this is a fine time to upgrade to a paid subscription on either or both newsletter — you’ll be supporting not only me but some worthy causes.

This place called Substack

I realize many of you are reading what I send here only on email and you may never go to the Substack home of The Practice of Life. But I’d like to encourage you to do so because there’s such a nice design over there! I’ve chosen the color, layout and fonts with care, and I think you may find it more pleasing to your eyes to read articles over on the site, which you’ll find here. You can also get there by clicking on the title of any message you receive from me via email.

There are a wealth of other gifted writers on Substack and a thriving, supportive community of creative folks. Here are a few of my favorite pieces lately (it was hard to pick just three!):

• Ways of Seeing: Color by

  Sal Randolph

• Walking Through Doors by

  Swarnali Mukherjee

• How Rest Feeds Our Creative Subconscious by

  Sarah Kokernot

Finally — a highly recommended book

I am really excited about a book that was just published: Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers toward Truth, Healing, and Repair by Hilary Giovale. My copy is coming and I’ll do a longer review once I’ve been able to spend time with it, but I know Hilary and her integrity is impeccable. She has deeply listened to a number of Indigenous elders in the writing of this book, and using reparative frameworks she will return all income she receives from book sales to Decolonizing Wealth Project and Jubilee Justice. Particularly since we’re in the month of Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 14), this is a good time for those of us who are not Indigenous to commit to learning how we can be in right relationship with Native peoples (as well as the earth).

Thank you for being here — I appreciate you!