Joyful, Artful, Connected Living
Living Regeneratively from the Inside Out
Yesterday, at a roundtable on regenerative entrepreneurship and fundraising hosted by the incredible team at Regenerative Intelligence (RegenIntel), I was introduced to a few new faces doing remarkable, highly impactful regenerative work in the world. These are people shaping industries, from oceans to fashion, reimagining the systems that underpin our world, and setting ambitious goals for net positive climate impact. I was moved by the clarity and urgency of their visions and capabilities, with many sharing powerful metrics around carbon reduction, ecosystem restoration, and industry transformation.
But one answer stood out in its simplicity and truth.
One of the speakers, amidst all the data and strategic goals, spoke to the importance of her own joy, creativity, and presence with her family and loved ones. She reminded us that the quality of her life—not just her professional output—has to matter equally. She spoke of the ease with which we can lose ourselves in the enormity of the task at hand. As a generation uniquely positioned to shift the trajectory of climate change and ecological collapse, the pressure can consume us, narrowing our focus to the point where we lose sight of what makes life worth living.
Her words resonated with many on the call, and deepened my own commitment to this dimension of my work. How we live matters just as much as what we do, perhaps even moreso, because it informs the work that we do so completely. It’s not a question of “work-life balance,” a concept that feels too reductive, but of integrity—of living regeneratively from the inside out. If our goal is to create a regenerative world, we cannot neglect the conditions within ourselves that make that possible.
The Art and Joy of Living Regeneratively
I’ve had the honor of spending time in the homes and lives of some of the most impactful regenerative leaders of our time. Here’s what I’ve observed:
• The ones who are most burnt out often have the least art, poetry, and creative practice in their lives. They are profoundly dedicated to their work, but have neglected the needs of their bodies, soul, and, sometimes, relationships.
• The ones who are the most soul-nourished—and who sustain the greatest impact—are those who weave poetry, prayer, artistic expression, and deep ongoing connection to themselves, wise peers, and the living world into their daily lives.
This isn’t just anecdotal. It’s a pattern. Art and joy and connection are not luxuries; they’re necessary regenerative practices. They help us metabolize the weight of what we carry and create the spaciousness we need to envision and build a better future.
The Role of Nervous System Care
A foundational part of this is understanding and cultivating a resilient and adaptive nervous system.
and I have been studying the nervous system deeply for quite some time, integrating powerful body-based practices into our lives for ongoing nervous system regeneration. These practices have been life-changing—not just for our personal well-being, but for how we design our work and relationships.Our dear friend
recently discussed with Elizabeth Kristof on his podcast , nervous system healing isn’t something that happens in a weekend in Tulum or by virtue of a belief system shift. It must be integrated into daily life as an ongoing practice of care.Just as we feed ours bodies, move our bodies, clean our bodies, we must nourish our nervous systems’ needs as we move through a massively dysregulating world.
But nervous system “work“ (I prefer to call it care) doesn’t need to feel like a workout. It can be an ongoing creative inquiry, an embodied joyful and curious relationship with the body’s sensations, and we can integrate our whole selves into this process in a way that feels artful, joyful, and connected.
In this conversation, Elizabeth describes neuroscience as “the science of hope” because it is continuously showing us that we can be always adapting, always evolving, and always capable of change. This means we have agency—real, actionable agency—to shift how we respond to our world.
I see nervous system work as a proactive, necessary, and, deeply enjoyable practice of regeneration. It increases pleasure, presence, and joy in our daily lives, helps us nurture trust in ourselves and others, and expands the field of potential that we can perceive in absolutely everything we do.
This understanding is deeply woven into the curriculum of The Art of Regenerative Living. Nervous system regeneration isn’t just an add-on; it’s a core element of everything I do. By integrating body-based practices with creative exploration and community connection, this work helps participants metabolize the stress of our times, reconnect with ourselves and one another, and regenerate from the inside out.
The Wisdom of Compost: Remembrance, Reconnection, Regeneration
Regeneration can get really abstract. In some of my communities of regenerative practice, the abstractions of regenerative frameworks and living systems theory can lose people really quickly. But regeneration is, in fact, the most grounded, natural, universal process. And I personally love to look to compost as the ultimate, simple model of regeneration which we can integrate into our lives in so many ways. The way I bring this into the question of “how do we live regeneratively“ is through what I call the Three Pulses of the Art of Regenerative Living: Remembrance, Reconnection, and Regeneration:
• Remembrance: Like compost, this is where the past is metabolized. It’s about acknowledging the truth of who and where we are, even the parts we might rather discard, and recognizing the nutrients, the wisdom, the insight, the value that can be found there.
• Reconnection: This is where we more deeply integrate into the present, bringing wholeness to our relationships—with ourselves, our communities, and the living systems around us. This is where we move through and release shame. This is where we come into deeper presence with what is. This is where the fertile soil of our future is cultivated.
• Regeneration: From this fertile soil, new growth emerges. Regeneration is about the realization of the potential of any living system, and each of us have absolutely unique and limitless potential. We realize this potential by being in relationship with peers and friends in the work that see us clearly, by having a creative and honest relationship with our unique essence, by moving toward visions for who we can be and what we are capable of and boldly bringing those visions to life!
An Invitation to Regenerate
If this resonates, I invite you to join me in The Art of Regenerative Living, an intimate winter council of no more than 12 people. This is not just a course; it’s a living practice. Over the course of three months, we’ll meet four times live, following the pulses of remembrance, reconnection, and regeneration.
In between our Council Calls, you will explore your own personal life inquiry, deepen your creative practice, and cultivate a way of being that aligns with the regenerative world you want to see. This community of practice will maintain a deep and intimate pulse of connection between calls, designed for the kind of asynchronous connection that is often called for in our full lives. Enrollment closes next week on Wednesday, December 18th, or when all spots are filled.
Together, we will create the conditions for a more joyful, meaningful, and regenerative way of living—from the inside out.
