Hello,

One of the reasons I began to work in complementary medicine is because we need new ways to find health, individually and collectively. I recently read about a patient visiting a “health provider” at one of of the giant insurance outposts. The doctor processed the patient’s complaint on his iPhone with AI, not even inquiring about his longer-term issues. He then prescribed a few lab tests, barely acknowledging the patient’s body, much less his personhood or dignity. At the end, the patient decided to skip the lab tests because he didn’t want to come back.That’s an example of a system in ruins.

I did not write the subject line in today’s email, it is the title of a book by Dougald Hine, an activist who made the transition from being an on-the-ground climate warrior to focusing on creation of new institutions that emerge after this moment. His isn’t a note of resignation, it’s an objective perspective on where to put energy in moments of tectonic shift, like now.

I am naturally an optimist and I see reasons to continue to be one. In my parallel work as a cultural strategist, I work alongside extraordinary people building new arts ecosystems. In the field of complementary medicine, today we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure the future for well-regulated access to homeopathy (if you care about that, contact congress).

When you shift your vision to accepting that we are in a moment of extraordinary transition, you become open to inspiration by those who are already doing the hard work of building new systems. I’ve included a few people who inspire me, below. I’d love to hear who inspires you. These are difficult times, but we can give each other energy, dream big, and fight for what comes next because I don’t think old habits are going to get us to a better place.

Until next time,

Roddy

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Dougald Hine, who I mentioned, helped shift my thinking about choosing a path for maximum impact.

Re.Punk, an extraordinary project by an equally extraordinary dreamer, maker, and entrepreneur, Dr. Sabine Seymour, who is building a new way of imagining health.

Bayo Akomolafe, a writer I became aware of during COVID, who continually challenges readers to dream bigger, harder, and with more compassion and intention, founder of the Emergence Network.

This Is A Performance School, a new, emergent community of theater makers and performers, for peer learning and collective experience, in rural Maine.