I have a bunch of thoughts swirling around my little noggin today and I’m going to blurt them all out here and see what kind of soup we’re making.
First, The Global Sumud Flotilla - more than 400 regular citizens - teachers, musicians, lawyers, students - from more than 40 different countries sailing with baby formula and rice brought the most global pressure and attention to the genocide in Gaza we’ve seen yet. All boats were intercepted by Israel, the members of the entirely legal flotilla were kidnapped and are being held illegally in Israeli prisons, and several witnesses report that Greta Thunberg (who was a member of the flotilla) was beaten, dragged by her hair, and made to kiss the Israeli flag.
The people on this humanitarian mission are heroes. They planned and executed a mission that brought millions of people out in the streets protesting for Gaza. Their flotilla inspired a general strike that shut down the entire country of Italy. They knew they would be intercepted by Israeli forces and face grave danger, and they sailed anyway.
Since their detention two more flotillas have departed from Europe heading to Gaza. The siege is breaking. The world is watching and people are pressuring their governments to do what is right. In North America the silence is too deafening, but in the rest of the world people are screaming for justice.
Second, I am living in a trade economy with my community and it makes my heart swell. Last week I was paid for teaching a singing lesson with a custom art t-shirt. Today I paid for guitar repairs with a singing lesson. And soon I am paying a musician for a gig with five chickens that we raised on my farm. I love, love, LOVE this kind of connection and creativity and I love the very tangible evidence that we’ve got one another, no matter what world banks and governments may do, no matter how currency values skyrocket and plummet, no matter what.
Finally, I am giddy about the many creative projects sprouting from seeds I planted over the past year. While I was home and artistically dormant, beautiful things were underground waiting for the right amount of water and sunlight to bring them to the surface. Apparently that magical combination has arrived and it’s time to start nurturing and growing these projects. They include a handful of singles and a full album, an incredibly beautiful music video concept with Meghan Sheffield, a wildly collaborative performance in November with Katie Hoogendam and Saskia Tomkins, and a few other new things I’d like to tell you more about closer to their launch dates.
All of which to say I am feeling completely and joyfully creative right now, and beginning in late winter 2026 I will have new music to share with you!
What do a global humanitarian mission, a local trade economy, and a personal creative renaissance have in common? I’m sure we could come up with lots of answers but the first two that pop into my mind are connection and love.
What kind of world could we make if those were our two guiding principles?
xo
Shannon
My featured song today is in honour of the Global Sumud Flotilla, and is a song written by Carsie Blanton, who sailed on that mission and is currently in an Israeli prison. It is called The Little Flame.