Dear readers, For our first Story Circle zine, we asked our community to join us in exploring the elements through balance and imbalance: Naomi Klein says we have hastened an imbalance of the elements on this planet, putting too much earth into the air in the form of carbon, leading to raging storms, floods, and wildfires. The elements themselves aren’t the problem — the arrangement of the elements is. But the arrangement can be changed. To bring balance, we must heal our relationship with the land. Kamea Chayne says climate change is not something happening to Earth; climate change is Earth expressing imbalances and trauma. These symptoms don’t need to be fought; they need to be listened to more deeply so we can understand “the source of the ruptures,” rather than just the symptoms. We are not separate from nature; we are nature. We are woven together by a balance of the elements and their interactions, taking in food (earth), air, sunlight (fire), and water each day to live. Our personal and cultural imbalances in turn reflect the Earth’s imbalances. We noticed several themes emerging in the submissions we received, including intricate fiber art, art and ritual as a way to process, and explorations of our relationship to land and animals. We hope you enjoy this community-sourced artwork and the range of emotions and experiences within. Love, Story Circle 2022