Power.
Just reading that word, where does it lodge in your body?
Are you fortunate to have found yours? Does the word “power” fill you up or make you shrink?
What about “empower”? Does that resonate more deeply?
When people wonder what it is that makes Carbondale so _________ (fill in the blank), the typical “eat, shop, play” barely scratches the surface. I look instead to what planners call “social capital”. This is our engaged population across the demographic: the people that have been here forever– our historians, so to speak. The leaders in our non-profits and organizations and the volunteers and patrons that support them. The influencers that make things happen and draw others in their wake. Our social capital is also embodied in those leading quiet or simple lives, leaving a soft wake with its own ripple effects.
August’s “Power” issue explores people in their power and empowerment:
- A badass, unpinnable woman serves reproductive rights and wellness for the Western Slope
- A ferocious young man finds his own way, on his own terms, from the extraction industry to self-discovery and the flow of the river
- A tattoo artist brings his business to Carbondale and the power of “connection”
- A writer expresses, instead, through abstract art
- A coffee aficionado and community-minded businessman empowers a coffee-growing village in Vietnam
- A well-loved local couple look at life in another city where housing, work, and more opportunity exist
These stories will release over the next two weeks.
Please read them; get to know your neighbors, your community, beyond that which we enjoy already. Please share the stories on Facebook (Instagram account started; has yet to be populated!) and spread the word of your own Carbondale magazine. And? Please consider contributing a story~
Each issue of Bonedale | Amplified seeks to shine a light on our stories, our people and our diversity of perspectives and experiences. August is the fourth issue– I can’t believe it! It is and has been my hope to be utterly inclusive: all of our demographic fully rendered. B|AM is interested in you. Please consider expanding our scope, rattling the cage and letting the beast out.
September is our If You Could, What Would You…? issue.
If my bases are covered– food, shelter, water, Love– I’m feeling alright. When we look at these systems in light of climate science, runaway population numbers, the ever-increasing housing crises, fresh-water issues, Monsanto— er, Bayer– what would you pursue without limitations? What would you catalyze if nothing could stop you? What do you envision for the world? For public lands? For your town? For your child’s school or your neighborhood? Tell us about it–
What is your hope?
