July 2025: water is life
Each month, we break down our topic into four weekly modules. Catch up on previous editions here.
This week's module: REFLECT
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Here's what we'll learn today Reader
I flew into the San Jose airport a few days ago for a wedding, and it was heartbreaking to see that every single billboard was an AI ad.
I like technology. It has its place.
But in a time where resources are already scarce, it's shattering me into a million pieces that our society's tech leaders have decided that robots are more worthy of water than humans.
The poem I'm sharing in today's Changeletter communicates some of the grief and anxiety that I'm feeling, and to balance it out, I've also included some coloring pages.
To recap, this month, we talked about a few main themes (catch up here).
- Intentionality of resources. The first step to action is thinking critically about our status quo. How are we taking water for granted? Where does it even come from? What's going on with our water supply?
- Stormwater. One of the grosser impacts of the climate crisis is increasing floods which, in addition to all the other horrible stuff, mixes poop into our water supply in many cities. Sewage will be a HUGE stinky topic in upcoming years.
- We all play a part in our urban environments. Water has shaped our geography for longer than we've been alive, and it's only recently that humans have played a role in the flow of water. For better or for worse, we're in charge of the things we build.
Without water, we are nothing, and it's time to do our very best to protect it.
This Changeletter is dedicated to Ellis the cat.
We can't do this without you Reader
A wee lil note: if you enjoy getting these Changeletters and you would like to make a gift of reciprocity, a $9 contribution would go such a long way. Especially if you make it monthly! 100% of this work is me sitting behind my keyboard stressing about if anyone cares about this stuff, so encouragement and financial support is so greatly appreciated!
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Your bite-sized action plan Reader
✅ REFLECT with coloring pages and a poem!
I'm going to sign off right now so you can read the poem + download your coloring pages in peace. Whether you choose to color, engage with poetry, or simply stay hydrated by pouring yourself a glass of clean water, here's a question you can keep with you:
In what ways do you hope to see your relationship with water change or remain the same?
That's it for today, and below, you'll find 3 coloring pages courtesy of Natalie Dupille and a poem by Amber McCrary. You can print out the coloring pages for yourself and your loved ones while reflecting on your relationship with water.
Love,
Nivi
Self-Portrait as a Saguaro by Amber McCrary
Sometimes I feel like you
a flowering hosh, has:an, saguaro
breathing in the rocky sand
A bright, boiling star, eyes, my waxy, sprinkled skin
I look at you and I can feel the prickled
toothpicks stand on my skin
just like when I see the hosh of my eye
I feel like you before the monsoons
my ribs dry from the heat
ready for the rain
& the new year
However, this year is particularly funny
but what does this tall saguaro know?
the rain is solemn
the rain does not repeat
like it used to
I see relatives pick off
my bearable fruit
for years longer than something called a nation state
whatever that is
Sometimes I see you leading
me to other hosh older
than the state of Arizona
standing taller than the
politicians looking like overwatered prickly pear
with pricks spilling out of their mouths
poking and bleeding out
letters with no song
Sometimes I feel like you
seeing freeways being built
over my relatives and friends
feeling the rivers dry in my spine
My belly unfull
In the heat
The magnificent heat
under my weight
I am protected beyond the laws
by something stronger
something laws cannot govern
When I see you
my belly is full
& the rain clouds appear
bustling, dripping, rested
Please let it keep raining
My spine crackles in between love and loss
of language and land
the cars spit grief in the name of sublime song
A terror to us, a barrier between my skin and song
We can't hear it anymore
only the sound of wheels whizzing and whirring
all in the name of a construct of the mind
the loveless of the sands
it is raw in your belly
it is raw in their language
it is raw in a bleeding mind
Please do not let my belly disappear
Performance below
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