🗺️ I'm loving local. How are you?

I'm inspired by Bad Bunny for many reasons, but especially this: the way he has only become more himself, more local, more specific as he has achieved more fame. As Kelefa Sanneh writes in a recent New Yorker piece, "one of the keys to his success is that the bigger he gets, the more local he seems."

This is how I want to live and love—unapologetically local, with abandon, rooted in who and what is around me.

I think there are two ways to love local. There's loving local as in close to home—your geography, your feet on the ground. And there's loving local as in close to your heart—your internal map of who and how you love and receive love. (I sometimes think about this as heartmapping.) Both matter.

We saw the power of loving local during COVID. Sequestered in our homes, we rallied around local shopkeepers, built mutual aid networks through Buy Nothing groups, and found creative ways to bridge the loneliness. We learned what happens when we show up specifically for those close to us in proximity and close to our hearts.

Nearly six years later, I'm finding loving local urgent again. With political division fracturing some our close relationships, with the uncertainty and fear rippling through our communities, figuring out how we show up for those we love—and how to love those who show up for us—feels like the important work right now.

Ways I'm loving local right now:

On the street: I'm connecting with my neighbors around shared concerns. I'm organized with folks in my zipcode; following invitations community leaders. I'm doing walking foot patrols, part of a rapid response network. I'm hanging love notes as close as I can to the businesses and people who support me. I'm finding ways to mirror back the love I feel from the people and community around me.

With my heartmap: I'm staying connected with my extended and chosen family. I'm pen pals with two of my nieces/nephews. I'm checking in by text or phone call with folks who hold wildly different views, I know are also suffering right now. I'm writing to you, the people who are the "get love. give love." community. These relationships matter too much to let distance or disagreement fade them.

How are you loving local? How could you be?