With love

Notes of encouragement at the end of a hard week

This week’s Bonfire newsletter is a little shorter than usual. We know that U.S. elections are on a lot of people’s minds (ours, too), so we wanted to acknowledge the moment and save our typical longform musings on creativity for next week.

In lieu of the longform, here are some quick little thoughts and encouragement from the both of us …

An election is not a destiny; rather, it puts us on a particular path. That path may be uncertain. It may be fraught or dangerous. But, importantly, the path doesn't end. And we can veer off, push and pull in different directions. We can sit down in the middle of the path and make it hard to go fast. All of that is useful. Valuable. Meaningful.

We are feeling big feelings this week for the people whose futures seem more tenuous now than they did a few days ago. Our hearts go out to those who feel pushed to the edges, unseen, and unsupported—groups that include marginalized communities, minorities, women in general. Both at Bonfire and in everyday life, we aspire to live up to values of inclusion, belonging, and love, so we feel especially called to show up anytime and anywhere those values are put to the test.

In the grand scheme of things, we are just a baby business up against monoliths of capitalism, patriarchy, and revisionism, but you know what? Babies give the best hugs.

We're committed to thinking hard about concrete and relevant ways we can show up and support those left more vulnerable in the wake of the election. When we figure that out soon, you'll be the first to know.

See you all next week,

Shannon + Kevan