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suzanne Ferris's avatar

I’m doing many of your suggested remedies to connect to place; and can say it works somewhat differently in the Northwest ( what we call Cascadia ). That said- what has cemented me more radically to place is a Polynesian sport -outrigger canoeing. I am outside four times per week in variable weather patterns with people I did not select for a 90 minute encounter with the elements in a tippy canoe. You build up an intimacy based on trust and know the people you are ‘benched’ with in all their strengths and weaknesses which builds confidence in the whole. There is nothing that cements trust better than risking a winter capsize.

Congratulations on a beautifully researched and written piece. I plan to send it on to my neice in Chicago who is trying to set down roots without a playbook.

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Anton's avatar

This post hit me right in the chest. I’ve been grappling with that same paradox—yearning for rootedness while living in a digital, mobile world that rewards detachment. Your framing of bioregioning as a healing antidote—not just to nationalism, but to disorientation itself—feels like a breath of fresh air. The Spencer R. Scott quote about the untethered becoming the “losers of the next system” stayed with me. It’s a powerful reframe: resilience as relationship.

Also, thank you for giving space to the nuance. Longing for ‘heimat’ doesn’t have to mean glorifying borders. It can mean deep care for place. Reverence. Presence. That last question—what would a bioregional internet look like?—gave me chills. Please write that post.

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