Wintry Musings…

Dear friends ~
I write you in the midst of wild times on Earth, in hopes that you and your loved ones are happy and well in this midwinter time…
I’ve been struck so deeply as of late with our human plight, and the plight of the planet, that I’ve been almost stumped to silence. Friends’ homes and lands have been burning in Southern California, national heritage sites are threatened with exploitation (Bears Ears…), natural disasters are the new normal, we continue to break treaties and encroach on sacred native lands (Standing Rock…), and the health of the modern mind seems more in question than ever…
In times like these I have to ask myself: how does my art and advocacy help? For surely, while artistic beauty in itself is a balm in these times, it feels important that I also stir the pot, ask hard questions, and help galvanize actual change.
For SO MUCH needs to be done, and not just for our human health and enjoyment, but for the lands themselves, and for the pollinators, birds and other wild creatures that live and rely upon them…
We need to plant pollinator-friendly flowers and native plants on even our teeniest of plots, we need to gather communities for wildland restoration days of action, there are watersheds to heal, forests to replant, entire ecosystems to rebalance… And it’s our everyday involvement in these very things that is sorely needed right now. These are the things I sing for, that I am inspired by, and that I want to serve with my advocacy.
Does any of this strike a chord? If so, let’s begin a conversation! How I can weave my music more richly with my mission? Are you connected with organizations I’d like to meet? And how can I help others fall in love with this beautiful, miraculous earth so that they might be motivated to join me in this work?
I don’t know yet where this journey will take me (or us!), but I would like to begin here, with the community that has resonated with my music and message, and see what we may co-creatively dream up. I look forward to hearing from you!
In the meantime, more music! And a happy Solstice to you and yours…
Love, Ariana
✧ ☆ ✧
“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”
– Wendell Berry
Originally sent to my mailchimp list