Announcement of Pace Layers

_posts/2024-12-03-pace-layers.md

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+layout: post
+title: My Essay Featured in the Inaugural Issue of ‘Pace Layers’ from The Long Now Foundation
+audio: 
+featured_image: /assets/media/Pace Layers
+alt: A person holds up a copy of Pace Layers against a green wall.
+image_credit: >
+photographer: Forrest Brown
+photo_source:
+excerpt: When we are bound in a system of reciprocity, not return on investment, we will be closer to being the kind of ancestors future people need.
+description: Learn more about the inclusion of my essay in the inaugural issue of Pace Layers, out now from The Long Now Foundation.
+date: December 3, 2024
+author: Forrest Brown
+---
+
+Last October, I was delighted to have an essay I wrote published in the Ideas section of The Long Now Foundation’s website. I had recently finished reading _The Ministry for the Future_ by Kim Stanley Robinson, and my head was swimming with ideas that I would normally share through my podcast, Stories for Earth.
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+But not long before I finally picked up a copy of _The Ministry for the Future_, I decided to put Stories for Earth on indefinite hiatus. It was, frankly, a ton of work doing the podcast — lots and lots of reading and almost just as much time doing further research on and then writing about what I’d read. With Covid precautions lifted and my job requiring I return to the office three days a week, I no longer had the time or mental capacity to keep the podcast going.
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+I still think Stories for Earth — while, admittedly not having the best name — was one of the best things I’ve ever done creatively. I don’t say that to toot my own horn but because I can’t think of many other things I’ve done that have given me so much personal satisfaction and sense of fulfillment. I loved making the podcast, and I was sad to see it end. But at least for now, that chapter of my life has come to a close.
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+I ached for an outlet for the kind of things I talked about on the podcast, though. Which, I guess if I had to put it into words, was basically just talking about brilliant things other people had created and then adding my own interpretation and context to it. I was honestly surprised The Long Now Foundation would want to publish something I had to say about such a prolific and visionary author as Kim Stanley Robinson, who, by the way, has given multiple talks in the flesh at The Long Now Foundation’s salon-style cafe, The Interval, in San Francisco.
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+If you’re not familiar with The Long Now Foundation, allow me to introduce you. Founded in 1996 by Stewart Brand, Brian Eno, and Danny Hillis, the LNF is a non-profit organization that exists to foster long-term thinking. (In the spirit of long-term thinking, the LNF styles year dates with five digits, like this: 01996.) Since its inception, the LNF has been involved in a few ambitious projects aimed at furthering this goal, like The Clock of the Long Now — a giant clock buried in a mountain in the American West that is designed to keep time for the next 10,000 years.
+
+<div class="callout"><strong>Side note:</strong> I learned of The Long Now Foundation through author, conceptual artist, and experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats, who I had the pleasure of <a href="https://storiesforearth.com/2021/09/30/jonathon-keats-atlanta-river-time/" target="_blank">interviewing once for Stories for Earth</a>. Jonathon also has work featured in <em>Pace Layers</em>, which I strongly encourage you to check out, either in the print issue or on the <a href="https://longnow.org/ideas/centuries-bristlecone-keats-interview/" target="_blank">LNF’s website</a>.</div>
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+I was happy enough to have an essay I wrote published by the LNF, and I was ecstatic when they contacted me to tell me it had been selected for inclusion in the inaugural issue of _Pace Layers_, a new journal from the LNF highlighting work it’s published or been involved in over the last 25 years. The issue is a beautiful, 282-page paperback full of fascinating ideas and curiosities.
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+I’ll bring this to a close now because I realize I’m rambling, but if you want to purchase a copy of the first issue of _Pace Layers_, [you may do so here for $25](https://longnow.org/ideas/pace-layers-journal-02024/){:target="_blank"}. I think the first printing already sold out, but I’ve heard new copies are shipping in January. Alternatively, you can read my essay that was included in the issue on the [LNF’s website here](https://longnow.org/ideas/in-the-ministry-for-the-future-new-ideas-from-ancient-wisdom/){:target="_blank"}.
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+Thank you, thank you for reading. I really mean it. More than just about anything else, writing makes me feel alive. I’m not trying to be humble when I say I am truly honored to get to share it with others.