A Community Thread

I recently had the honor of chatting on the radio with Shanti O'Connor, whose interview you may remember from earlier this year. Shanti cohosts a show on KPOV, the local radio station here in Bend, Oregon. At the time of this recording the program was called Voices from the Margins, but it is transitioning to Curiosity Lab, so if you are inclined to seek it out, be sure to keep an eye out for either name. As the A Community Thread interviews have come to a close for this year, I thought this might be a good opportunity for listeners to hear some of my thoughts in response to someone else's questions -- a bit of a role reversal -- as a way to learn more about this project. Thanks so much for listening. And happy holidays! 

This is the 50th and final interview for this year and the 160th interview overall for A Community Thread. I owe a huge thank you to Leslie as it is unlikely I would have met Tyler without her. I first met Tyler, who is Leslie's husband, when I showed up at their house to interview Leslie earlier this year and that was the beginning of what has turned out to be a very lovely friendship with both of them. Tyler and I have spent many hours on many occasions in genuine conversation over the course of this year and I have come to value his opinion and outlook and admire him as a man and caring human. Because of our time together and what I have come to know of Tyler, I invited him to be the final interview for this year. So, a big thank you and a big hug to him for graciously accepting. I am honored to introduce him to you here and hope that you will not only find our conversation uplifting but also a catalyst for changes big and small in your own daily practices.

I have been churning out interviews weekly for three years now and I have done so without taking a break to significantly evaluate any effect this is having. In mid-stride, I have been thinking and analyzing and questioning and have accordingly made some tweaks to the questions and some adjustments to my general practices, but I have come to understand that I need to take a little space to not only better analyze my desired outcomes and how to have a greater effect, but also to better understand how to digest all of this information personally. While there may be a lull in posts for a period of time, much will be happening behind the scenes and more will come soon. With all of that said and without further ado, here is Tyler Graham.

Big thanks to Sheila Dunn for recommending Travis to participate here. I've actually known Travis for a year or so. We met through his wife, Emily, and I believe she initially wanted us to meet because of our sharing an interest in disseminating information via podcasts. Travis makes a podcast called Modern Folk and seems to have a pretty significant interest in living better and more thoughtfully. Travis also participated in a small group of folks I asked to gather together last year with the focus of giving me some advice as this project moved forward. It was so great that Sheila brought his name up. And their particular thread of referrals happens to be the longest one to date — 14 other people referred each other down this line that ended up landing me at Travis' door.

We have a great conversation here and I am so glad to share it with you. In the end, Travis starts interviewing me, too, which isn't exactly the norm. If you can, I recommend listening to this one as the back and forth aspect of our conversation and the tone and cadence and sincerity and smiles and laughter and even some tears seem to all be understood better through the ears than through the eyes. However you take it in, though, I do hope you'll be challenged and inspired.

I'd like to begin here by offering a tremendous thank you to Shanti O'Connor for connecting me to Becky. We came so close to missing this incredible conversation due to some electronic mail complications, but we managed to recover and I'd say we are all better for it — all, in this case, being you and me and Becky, too. I met Becky at her home in Sisters and she intercepted me outside as I approached her driveway. We immediately went for a short walk to the Wychus Creek, which winds it way through the trees at the end of her street. We talked at length on its bank and chatted about the creek and its eddies as a metaphor for life.

I don't fully understand — or maybe it's just that I don't have the most efficient language for it — but there is an almost immediate connection when I meet certain people. And that connection allows for vulnerability and sincerity in a unique and rare way — a way that I don't witness all that often in my daily routines. Perhaps it's a recognition of openness or a spirit-to-spirit (whatever that means to you) vibration. I suppose we all may have different words for it. At any rate, whatever it is and whatever you call it, it was there with Becky.

We carried our conversation back to her home and we sat in her kitchen over a cup of delicious and nourishing tea while we prepared to record. I am so happy to offer you that portion of our time together here, but I wish that you could have witnessed our entire exchange. It was full — full of sharing and learning and some laughing and crying. Times like this one continue to amaze me. This connection continues to inspire me. Our capacity for relationship and listening actually maybe be the only thing that inspires me. Our connection with another is the most powerful thing I've encountered and the joy I experience from any other thing doesn't come close to touching it. Thank you so much, Becky, from the bottom of my heart, for meeting me, seeing me, hearing me, and sharing with me.

I've known Sheila casually for a couple of years now and several people have mentioned her name as a potential participant here, but nobody ever officially referred her until now. And I owe a big thank you to Jason Chinchen for finally being the responsible party. Sheila and I sat in her studio and chatted over a cup of matcha about many of the things on our minds. This interview is conversational and relaxed due to our already knowing one another and — spoiler alert — it doesn't offer much by way of figuring it all out or solving the world's problems, but it is yet another example of a couple of concerned individuals talking about what might be best. And I tend to think that the more we thoughtfully engage with one another, the better our chances will be of making some progress. Sheila's a dedicated and skilled painter who is making quite a name for herself, but I'd be willing to bet that her success is due just as much to her intention and heart as it is to her talent and work ethic.

Laura Grayson referred Will to participate here several months ago and at that time Will asked me to reach out to him again "after September", when his schedule might afford him a little extra time. And so I did and he was kind enough to put me on the calendar. We met in a conference room at the Ruffwear and Embark headquarters, where Will serves as the President. This was actually our second meeting — our first being a couple of weeks earlier to chat about another photography project — so I had some idea of what chatting with Will was like and, because of that first interaction, I was really looking forward to this conversation. True to the one form I have come to understand of him, Will chatted with me with patience and attentiveness and offered his perspective on the subjects below with care and sincerity. To say I enjoyed taking with Will would be a severe understatement. Something about the way he says it makes what he has to say resonate with me. I am so grateful to have had this conversation with him face to face and it's an honor to share it with you here.

Skye Kimel referred Krayna to participate here. It turns out that Krayna and I live nearby each other, so it was a treat to go to a home I have passed by several times and meet and chat with the resident there. Krayna met me with a big smile and promptly served me up a cup of hot tea and some bites of dark chocolate and a tour of her home. We sat on her sofa together and chatted about this and that until it seemed as though me might talk about everything before we even started recording. Then we dove in.

The following conversation is fairly weighty and existential. Our time together was very warm and sensitive and full of emotion and I am sure you will notice that as you read or listen below. If you are at all inclined to listen, I highly recommend it, as I've chosen to not transcribe in detail every conversational rabbit hole. It's also worth the listen just to hear Krayna laugh at some of my questions. Her's is a kind laugh and one that set the tone for our time together. It's a great pleasure to introduce Krayna to you here. Keep your eyes out for her as she will undoubtedly shine some light on you and your day should you encounter her. You can also be in touch with her through her website.

I'd like to offer a big and warm thank you to Andrew Smith for recommending Jerry to participate here. It's hard to imagine a circumstance in which I would have met Jerry otherwise. I feel very fortunate to have had this time with him today, which was so lovely and sincere and vulnerable and genuine. Jerry lives on a large plot of landed completely surrounded by BLM land with his 100 sled dogs. Jerry's a sled dog racer and a tour guide and the father to Rachael Scdoris, who has experienced a substantial amount of fame for her athletic accomplishments. I've seen a bunch of sled dogs before, but never 100 of them in one setting. And I've never been so up close and personal with them as I had the opportunity to be today. If you listen to the interview, be aware that I inserted some audio of what those dogs sound like between my introduction and the start of our conversation. While it may not be obvious in the recording, please know that the dogs are happy and healthy and wagging their tails. Jerry and I spent three and a half hours together, which is a bit more than is normal, but it still wasn't quite enough. I so look forward to spending some more time with Jerry — learning from his vast experiences and enjoying more wonderful conversation.

Skye Kimel recommended Jesse to participate here. I had heard of Jesse through mutual friends and had even taken a peek at his small-home development, The Hiatus, last winter, so it was a treat to finally meet him. We had a lovely and lively conversation and I left feeling invigorated. I transcribed the bulk of our conversation for your reading pleasure here, but there are some fascinating off-shoots that you'll have to listen to the audio in order to enjoy. I appreciated so much that Jesse's train of thought was often introspective and void of judgment. My guess would be that we could all take a lesson from that behavior… I know I certainly can.

Dayna Taus recommended Shanti to participate here. I had heard of Shanti and even attended a presentation of hers a couple of years ago, but I couldn't quite remember the context and I know we hadn't met, so I was looking forward to meeting her today. I spent the last week in Maine, visiting my family, exploring my old stomping grounds, and generally not thinking too much about this project and really couldn't have asked for a more pleasant reentry than this warm and encouraging and honest conversation. I am so glad to be able to introduce Shanti to you here and hope that you'll find our chat to be inspiring and motivating.

If you choose to listen, be prepared for the super abrasive and shocking noise of a weed-whacker near the end of the recording. And if you read instead, please feel free to blame the interruption of Shanti's final thought on that, too.