Jake's Weekly Flow #11

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Weekly Flow #11  | March 17, 2023

Greetings, fellow activists,
Welcome to my weekly flow of news, events, insightful perspectives, and impactful stories aimed at creating positive change in your life and the lives you touch, at home and on the road.

My curious mind, intuitive soul, and big heart, along with some personal connections and crushes on extraordinary humans have put me in a position to receive an abundance of practical information, exciting innovation, and deep wisdom, usually travel-related, that has flowed to me, and now, on to you. Before you scan, take a breath, tune in, open up to the flow, and find your glow.

• Love this list of (Inter) National Parks and motivational quotes to help get you out there! Here’s a list of the Transformational Travel Council Accredited Transformers ready to help you mindfully connect with these parks and all the LIFE that call them home.

• Black Earth Wisdom: A Conversation with Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm. On March 31st at 2:00 p.m. ET join Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and author of Farming While Black and Black Earth Wisdom, and Jonathan F.P. Rose as they explore how farming and living in deep connection with land can heal and fortify our planet and ourselves.

• “According to Deloitte, 80% of executives say well-being is a top priority, nearly 90% of workers think their work life is actually getting worse.” In the last week I had a few conversations about how employee engagement is suffering especially in hospitality and tourism, from lack of meaning and purpose, to unfair wages and poor community engagement. A transformative approach to reigniting an individual’s inner fire is vital and is catalytic to building a regenerative culture that can learn to thrive within the walls and outside of them, in the communities they are embedded in.

• Ooh la la, this lights me up! Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire with Rebecca Henderson - Henderson’s 2020 book ‘Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire’ offers hope: if you, as an individual, can make even a single company a better place to work, you can change lives and be part of driving the larger social and political changes that are needed. Watch the video here.

• A great organization and one of my favorite lodge collections doing good work. The Nature Conservancy and Explora Team Up for Conservation in Patagonia - A new conservation collaboration between sustainable tourism company Explora and The Nature Conservancy will protect part of Chile’s Patagonia.

• I wonder if I’ll be a sunset or sunrise person on Mars. What will you be and why? NASA’s Curiosity rover shares a stunning sunset on Mars.

• What is our soul’s purpose here on planet earth? How do we catalyze experience into evolution? And how do we discover who we really are? Join Julie Piatt On Soul Evolution, Sacred Embodiment, and Falling In Love With Yourself. - The Rich Roll Podcast

On a personal note, this has been a very challenging week for me and my family. Someone very close to me has been struggling with mental illness most of his life and the last few days have been the toughest yet. Words cannot express how challenging mental health is for those who are suffering and those that are supporting. And the lack of support and access to it is a major problem that our society is facing. We were in the emergency room this week and all that I kept hearing is how all the inpatient and outpatient support was severely lacking, with thousands upon thousands of people in Seattle alone in crisis and seeking help. This is heart wrenching, dangerous and deeply disappointing given the wealth, the good hearts, and the good intentions that surround us in Seattle, the US’s 3rd richest city.

But to bring us back to the love and the light, our newest Ally member at the Transformational Travel Council, the NOC Society (Needs of the Community) has social and employment programs for young adults 18-35 with medical illnesses and disabilities. And Camp Without Borders is their social program which offers free and accessible travel to these same young adults. The 3rd piece to this beautiful purpose driven organizational triangle, is “Awesome Possum” landscaping a supported employment program with training and hiring in the field of landscaping.

Below is a photo of the beautiful ‘zenscaping’ work they’re doing this week at our home in the Beacon HIll neighborhood of Seattle, thanks to a couple of strong “stallions” as Zac Gannett, Founder of NOC Society Calls them.

Lastly, to tie back to the transformative power of travel, here is an article on How Travel Can Help Us Process Grief, Trauma, and Anxiety. Whether we are healing from pandemic trauma, personal tragedy, or other mental or physical health challenges, travel has an ability to play a critical role in the recovery journey, research shows.

Here’s a relevant quote that I just stumbled across, it shook me to the core.

“If you want to see the stars you must be willing to travel through the dark.” - Hannah Blum

Brightly,

Jake Haupert 
Co-Founder & CEO
Transformational Travel Council
www.transformational.travel | LinkedIn

P.S... If you’d like to donate to helping us catalyze travel for personal and social transformation, we’d be eternally grateful. If you’d like to consider making a social and environmental impact investment, please contact me directly.