February: Letter from our Co-Founder

Dear friends

It’s nice to be on the final descent of winter, heading toward springtime. I am looking very forward to this summer and spring. This winter has felt like a long one for many reasons, piled on by the consistent negative narrative around these “crazy times,” that, if you fall into the cycle of reading social media and the news constantly, can make you also feel crazy and give you an overwhelming sense of unease.

I’m going to stay entirely out of politics here, not because I’m afraid to take a stand, not because I don’t feel like certain things are worth arguing for or pointing out, but rather because I think we’re on absolute emotional and media overload. These days, it’s tough to know the truth, and in my experience in life on this planet, there are no absolute truths.

We keep seeking them, and we make our stand. We put our flag in the ground and usually have to make everyone else around us wrong if they disagree with our perceptions of reality, politically or otherwise. We live in a constant state of othering; on the other hand, do you find yourself asking how this could be happening? Whatever it is, difficulty in your marriage, difficulty with your kids, difficulty accepting the reality of our external world. I cannot double down on this enough, please do not interpret what I’m saying as minimizing the suffering and extreme dysfunction happening all around us right now.

The problem is the shit will drive you crazy, and you won’t affect any change if you’re obsessed with it and allow external situations to dictate your mood, worldview, and perspective. When I have sought people, places, and things as the source to make me happy, it has resulted in an abundance of suffering for much of my adult life. Gratefully, I’m not suffering today. And it’s not because I like everything happening around me or that I’m happy and whistling Dixie every day because I’m not. I’m constantly flowing through negative emotions, perspectives, mood swings, and an overall feeling of less security in our society and around me than I have ever before.

I’ve had some incredible teachers in my life who have encouraged me to focus and find peace within myself, regardless of what’s going on outside of me; if I want to affect change and impact others positively, I have to decide honestly whether I want to be a beacon of light or whether we wish to us to come to darkness. Sometimes it feels like this is the only time in our history that that’s been the case — while it’s not, it’s likely the most challenging time in most of our lifetimes. Again, I encourage all of you to look at history; comparing suffering is not usually practical, but the truth is people have been suffering throughout history.

The world is often not a fair place. People don’t always get what they deserve on the outside. Our internal world, however, is up to us. We have to spend time in there, but we have to spend time in quiet. We must spend time away from the noise of media and our phones long enough to read and develop a relationship with ourselves.

Nature provides truth, and I spend lots of time in it (I hope you are enjoying these pictures I’ve taken during my time in nature this winter). I need to look at the stuff man didn’t make to gain wisdom and insight into myself and all of us. Nature doesn’t lie. Nature doesn’t care what our opinions are. The sun rises, and the sun sets. The weather will be what the weather will be in the winter. Most living things go dormant and internal, then spring beautifully a few months later. In the middle of winter, things seem dead, but nothing is dead. It’s just replenishing and adapting to the external conditions without any negotiation. The best advice I can offer some days is for people to simply walk, get outside, let the sunshine greet their faces, feel their feet on the Earth, and hug a tree if no one‘s looking or you’re not ashamed.

Nature doesn’t have a hidden agenda. The ocean is often said to be the best possible mirror for us. When we look out upon the sea, we see nothing but an expanse of the horizon line, and the sky becomes one where the water is vast and enormous. Somehow, most of us end up transfixed upon it, staring at it. The same thing is true where I live in Colorado; looking at the sunset in the mountains or the Alpine glow in the evening is breathtaking. It’s startling, and it’s free.

So, if you find yourself super upset during these times, 5 to 10 minutes a day outside in nature, in a park, or anywhere else. Leave your phone behind and just commit to learning from the beauty surrounding us. A couple of minutes a day just to breathe with trees, the sky, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the stars. Doing so offers me more perspective and energy to serve others and care for myself best.

Thank you for reading this, my friends, and thank you to so many of you who sent me emails here. I appreciate your feedback and hearing from you.

Danny