The last cleanup with HUMI was honestly so sweet. More than half of the people who showed up had never been to a cleanup before! Getting to watch people jump right in and then have people of all ages join together for a taekwondo class was so sweet. We had suggested a donation of 80 pesos (less than $5), and at the end, Paolina, the owner of HUMI, let me know she wanted to donate it all to a girl who rescues dogs. THIS is what I hope Giving Gifts can continue to be….
A space that invites people in, not with pressure or expectation, just simple to show up as they are. A starting place to figure out what your gift is and begin to navigate ways to use it.
Because what I’ve noticed again and again is that when people are given space, they usually fill it with something meaningful. And when one person uses their gift, it almost always creates room for someone else to use theirs too. It builds. It ripples. It multiplies.
We tried something new this past weekend: Co-create. It’s the same idea as Cowork, just show up and work alongside each other, just this one had more of a creative focus.
I planned it for a Saturday after receiving a ton of feedback that the weekend would be better, had 20 people say they would be there, and it ended up being three adults, two kiddos, and one Sol. I had to check in with myself a bit. I realized how easily I can fall into the trap of thinking more people = more value. It opened up space for me to look at that and ask: What do I really believe about impact? About enoughness? About who I am, when the numbers are low? I wrote about that [here on Substack].
In heinseight this day was exactly what It needed to be with exactly who needed to be there….It really often is. One of the kiddos even told her mom “I bet Jesus loved today. I bet Jesus loves to just paint together and pick wishing flowers and play with sol and be outside.”
What I keep coming back to is: growing a community, no matter what the size, is going to happen in small groups, slowed down moments, and with consistency. We are going to continue to offer more date throughout summer for co-work and co-create and I am sure I will be revisiting these themes over and over again.
June 7 we’ll be back on the beach for our second annual World Ocean Day cleanup and celebration. Last year felt like such a sweet day. This year, we’re keeping the same vision: Cleanup, food, music, activities, a raffle! We’ll also be sharing a vision that’s been on my mind for a while…building a trailer to hold all the supplies.
Right now, every time we have a cleanup everything gets thrown into my car…all of it gets packed and unpacked every time. I’m actually at max capacity. This trailer would make things more practical for sure and even better…it would make it easier to share with other groups and schools. I had ChatGPT mock one up and it actually looks kinda dope.
We got a quote of 25,000 pesos, a little less than $1400 to do the entire build out (a bit bigger than the mockup), tires, license plate, extra storage underneath, etc.
Other little things that feel worth mentioning:
Sol and I are loving spring (even if my allergies are wild). Oksana is visiting from South Africa and will be in Ensenada this week which I am super stoked for.
At the end of June I’ll be traveling to NY for a verrrrry special wedding!
I just finished the full written draft of Whether the Weather, which means editing begins and I can finally shift into the more creative parts of the process, which I’m honestly so excited for.
Oh…and I passed my trauma-informed care recertification with exactly 80%, which is what I needed. That felt fitting. Enough to keep going. Enough to keep learning.
Thanks for being here. For reading. For caring. For showing up in whatever way you do.
Cas
P.S. If you made it this far, hit reply and let me know something that’s going in your world. Something you are celebrating, something you’ve been struggling with, a recurring thought, or idea, or song you’re loving. I would love to hear from you!