“When we learn how to become resilient, we learn how to embrace the beautifully broad spectrum of the human experience." -- Jaeda Dewalt

I'm back in Georgia this week -- a mix of southern locations where I ate delicious shrimp and grits and Atlanta proper where the rest of the week will unfold. It started with 2 days at a conference full of folks in the Molecule/Network/Weaver side of the spectrum. But I showed up through all 3 Steps of the Reciprocity Cycle.

Acknowledge Earth Is Our Home

Jekyll Island along the SE coastline of Georgia is a special place. I even got to hear a bit this week on how it was created in waves over 3 geological ages.

But what felt so sweet was a walk along the beach. The Georgia Resiliency Conference had just ended. The afternoon sun was shining. I changed out of my dressy clothes into sandals, REI pants, a tank top, and a white overshirt to protect my Scottish ancestory skin.

Quickly the sandals came off as my feet welcomed the warm ocean water and soft sand. The wind freed my curated curls. My spf sunscreen make up foundation kept my face protected. And thankfully, I forgot my sunglasses so I could take it all in.

The walk was just an hour. But my body sank into a rhythm of waves and steps and gushes. A lovely reminder why we all had been attending and giving presentations plus sharing and taking business cards.

Discover Your Earth Archetype

I was delighted to join UGA's Mark Johnson's panel called "Media: Stories that Resonate and Educate." He put together such a wonderful group of a ecology researcher, a local journalist, a state journalist, and me with the affiliation "How on Earth Television Series." Our task was to help science-y type folk understand better how to work with media to get their information out.

And this group of storytellers gave me a-has along the way.

It started as I prepped to answer the questions Mark shared with us ahead of time. The first being, "Why do audiences struggle to understand climate-related stories? Is it the topic, the structure, something else?" Immediately, I knew my job was to turn things around a bit because I don't see myself in the role of helping people understand -- but rather to imagine, entertain, and engage.

And that is certainly a piece I pushed with every answer I gave.

Plus, a fun question emerged naturally around timelines. It started with the statewide journalist sharing that his editor would assign the story and then say when it's due -- probably by end of day. Yet the local journalist would probably have a month. And then there's a tv show -- years!

Work Together in Community

Part of what was fun about being on the panel was to see what people responded to. With laughs, grimaces, head nods, note taking, and more. Whether I threw data, gave examples, or asked for feedback on something. It was a group of Molecules and Networks willing to go on the journey -- even if it meant they now had to go home and begrudgingly watch the Grey's Anatomy episode I mentioned. But it balanced with brand new to them news that NRDC does more than just legal work -- but has the entire "Rewrite the Future" program.

What will they remember? Put to use? Share? I don't know. But I do know that Mark shared at the end of the day that several people had come up to him and thanked him for the variety on the panel.

Though maybe not with the same glow I saw someone share with me after a presentation I stepped into for the last few minutes. She was almost effervescent with getting the latest and greatest data from a prized scientist. It was beautiful.