The Being of a Nation
"How do you want to BE in this world?"
Interviews from 48 states
In 2017 Kïrsten Blake of Chapter BE, along with her dog, Harriet Ethel, the brave and beloved BE mascot, traveled to all 48 continental United States and asked 380 strangers: “How do you want to BE in this world?”
Kïrsten and Harriet drove a total of 15,887 miles over the course of 90 days, July 15 through October 16, and stayed with family, friends, and friends-of-friends along the way. Beginning the trip in Santa Fe, NM and ending in Denver, CO, Chapter BE’s approach was simple – scope the city and crowdsource the best places to set up. Then, throw open the back doors of Beatrice, the BE Mobile, and invite strangers in to talk.
The Being of a Nation collected stories of courage, curiosity, empathy, love, positivity, and so much more. Stories are how people connect with one another, with their environment, and with themselves. Chapter BE wants to share these stories of BEing from across the nation with the aim to inspire individuals to share their story as well as connect to someone else’s BE story.
Below you will find stories of BEing from different individuals across our country. As you listen to these stories, note that these are raw, on-the-street interviews that capture the storyteller’s environment – general background noise, animals, cars, others passing by. Close your eyes and picture their environment as you listen in…
Listen to their stories
Featured Interviews:
St. Paul, Minnesota
Peaceful
“By understanding and being peaceful and kind to myself, I feel it's much easier to put that out into the world towards other people.”
Newark, New Jersey
At Peace
““My trick is the 3-breath. Breathing, I learned, is the first thing you stop when you feel troubled. That is the first thing that you do. You stop breathing. I have three breaths that I take. I pull in and release it from my chest and mouth - very deeply.”
Nashville, Tennessee
Peace
“Life is easier, the older I've gotten. I'm 78 now, and the easier it is.”
Detroit, Michigan
Loving
“One of my methods for getting back in that space is exercising or walking, meditating and praying, journaling, dancing sometimes, cooking. So, you know, just getting back in that same mindset of love - being loving - and peaceful...”
Explore all of the interviews
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