The Human Condition

Hey y’all,

It’s been a minute since we’ve shared a newsletter, so I wanted to pop in with a little reminder: we’re still here, and we still care.

This summer felt like the right time to step back a bit.  To take a break from the constant, often overwhelming noise of politics, and instead put more energy into the things right in front of us: home, family, and the everyday moments that matter most.

Now that we’re easing back in, I want to share some work from Jess Craven.

Jess keeps her social media bio simple: Activist, organizer. Author of Chop Wood Carry Water Daily Actions. Political content creator. Co-host of the Practivist Pod. Mom to a 🏳️‍⚧️ kid.

You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Substack, where you can also subscribe to her newsletter Chop Wood, Carry Water.

Jess often calls on her subscribers to take action! By writing letters, making calls, and speaking up about the issues shaping our communities. But just as importantly, she reminds us of the wins. Even when change feels slow or invisible, she points out the small victories that prove our efforts matter.

I’m sharing the link to her August 31, 2025 newsletter, highlighting some of these wins.  Because celebrating progress helps fuel the road ahead.

Celebrate This! 🎉

And now… 2 min of Jodi

Wired to Care

This deep instinct to notice, to worry, to reach toward what’s happening around us, it’s what makes us human.  We feel it whether it’s across the room or across the world. We are built to care. Built to connect.

Of course, caring can be exhausting. That’s why it’s so important to remember:

You’re allowed to care and rest.

You’re allowed to step back, to breathe, to turn off the noise.

You’re allowed to tend to your own nervous system without betraying the world.

You’re allowed to follow joy, without conditions and without guilt.

Caring sustainably means including yourself in the circle of your compassion. It means nourishing yourself with food, with quiet, with connection, with movement.  With whatever reminds you that you are still here, and still whole.

And here’s the part that often gets overlooked: we don’t just carry the hard things together; we also get to share the wins.

Part of the human condition is feeling the lift of collective victories. They may not always be sweeping or dramatic, but they are real. Every letter written, every call made, every policy shifted, every moment of progress, is proof that our actions matter.

Noticing and celebrating these wins reminds us that change is possible and that we are part of it. In caring, we carry both the struggle and the progress.  It’s about lifting each other up and finding strength in what we can accomplish together.

With gratitude,

js