Honor YOUR rhythms this season


FWD Newsletter: (a little late) Nov 2022 - Insights, Features, & Opportunities	View in browser

Hey there!

Well, it's December, this newsletter was supposed to go out before Thanksgiving, but, we had someone pass on this month in my family and I took some time away to grieve and celebrate...then, I got the flu. So, here's our November Newsletter on December 1st. 🤷🏻‍♀️ That's my rhythm right now, to keep moving FWD, with a little style 💃🏻.

Two of the driving values of FWD are invitation and curiosity. To us, this means that our goal is to approach every situation as an invitation to learn more or to invite others to learn alongside us, and to always carry curiosity as our first response. Rather than working on "meaning-making", judgment, or becoming defensive, to really be curious as to why, what, how, where someone is coming from. I used this approach while going into celebrating Thanksgiving this year and I came across this powerful quote from Sean Sherman, The Sioux Chef;

"The thing is, we do not need the poisonous “pilgrims and Indians” narrative. We do not need that illusion of past unity to actually unite people today. Instead, we can focus simply on values that apply to everybody: togetherness, generosity and gratitude. And we can make the day about what everybody wants to talk and think about anyway: the food."

– Sean Sherman, The Sioux Chef (full article from TIME linked below)

Sherman goes on to talk about how the majority of Thanksgiving recipes are Indigenous at their core, encouraging us to "explore a deeper connection to what are called “American” foods by understanding true Native-American histories, and begin using what grows naturally around us, and to support Native-American growers."

As the days get shorter, the weather turns colder, and the landscape looks grayer, it’s tempting to wish that the days of green and growth would last forever. I’ve been thinking a lot about seasons lately, and appreciating that there is a time of growth, but there is also a time to rest, reflect, reset, and gather energy for what’s next.

This time of year calls for us to reflect on our blessings, I have been focusing on the blessing of seasons of rest—seasons of stillness and simplicity. If you’ve been keeping your eye on the news lately, the layoffs in big tech and the relative collapse of the crypto market are reminders that even successful ventures sometimes need to scale back and slow down.

Nothing grows forever. Rather than letting that become a source of discouragement, let it encourage you to brave this winter with purpose and embrace life’s natural rhythms.

So here's our (a little late) November Newsletter with info on:

Insights into Thanksgiving
Honoring Native American Heritage Month
Organizations to give to in this season of giving
The latest FWD Content on how to support small business owners, crowdfunding, anxiety, & solo-preneurship
+ An awesome FREE course & curriculum "Warning Signs: Lincoln’s Response to Rising Threats to Freedom, Justice, and Democracy (linked below)
And of course, some funding/grant opportunities.

With Gratitude,

Michael, FWD Founder

P.S. 🎧 If you're interested in diving deeper into honoring your rhythms there's a 10 min podcast I regularly go back and listen to when I need a reminder: Live Awake "Learning How to Honor Rhythms and Cycles"

-Listen on Apple

-Listen on Soundcloud

Where to Give

We're late for Giving Tuesday, but here is a shortlist of incredible organizations FWD supports and or partners with that you should support all year around. The organization names are linked to their websites and we've included a direct donation link [$] next to each one for your convenience: