Some things I believe

In no particular order.

For no discernable reason, I felt inspired to post this list on Instagram. Maybe a sort of anchoring of myself (and values) in the online space? A last-ditch-ish effort to continue finding and affirming relationships with my “people” there? Just the result of scrolling, once again, through recent photos and thinking about recent events?

Whatever the source, I liked what I ended up with—and I liked that it came quickly and with little thought, like some of my favorite things I shared on social media all those years ago (from the heart, as the cliche goes).

Seeing as I still intend Substack to be my primary method of engaging online, I felt the list needed to live here as well!

• Natural environments don’t need to provide an economic return to be valuable—they are worth protecting for their own sake

• We should all care more about biodiversity

• Human and domestic animal welfare are inextricably linked

• Overconsumption is a core problem in the modern world (experiences, relationships, intangible sense of self, so much more > material things)

• Language is not everything—but the words we use can and do matter, and it’s worth thinking critically about them

• Standard time is much healthier than daylight saving time

• Did I mention natural environments and ecosystems are worth protecting independent of what they can “offer” our species??

• Human rights and identities should not be up for debate!

• We ought to take light pollution as seriously as other forms (imagine how much more content we’d all be if we could regularly see the Milky Way like our ancestors a few hundred years ago… not to mention the impact on plants and wildlife)

• Dogs don’t need to be indiscriminately social!

• Your confidence and definition of “success” need not be tied to your career, traditional familial role, etc

• Your life does not need to look like mine to be fulfilling and worthwhile and have my support (and vice versa)

• And ending with a gimme: Scout is absurdly cute¹

1. I am usually very open to disagreement (or at least try to be, anyway, as much as an emotional human creature can) but if you aren’t on the same page about this objective fact… kindly see yourself out.