Sustainable Baddie of the Week: Intentional Living, Emulating Nature, and Motherhood with Evelynn Escobar
☀️: Virgo 🌙: Virgo ⬆️: Cancer
When I first contacted Evelynn Escobar to inquire about a feature, I received a follow-up email that read, “Thank you so much for reaching out. It is normal for me to take 48 hours to read emails and an additional 48 hours to reflect and respond intentionally.” I’d never received a follow-up email like this before. Nor has an email ever sent me into a spiral about the rapid pace of living that society has normalized. Usually, people will respond within a day or two, won’t respond at all, or flat-out say no. Evelyn’s response not only told me a bit about herself and the way she approaches life but reminded me that it is okay to take your time.
The immediacy of the world we’re living in has caused widespread social burnout. It’s normal for people to expect near-immediate responses and access to each other's lives through social media, and for creatives, the pressure to perform according to an algorithm if we’re to have our message heard. Sure, being chronically online does give sustainable baddies an affinity for making relatable spiritual nature memes, but are we hearing the message of our memes? Can we strike a balance between a love for the internet, the outdoors, and for our well-being? Evelynn’s email made me all the more excited to speak with her.
Evelynn Escobar, also known online as @EveMeetsWest, is an earth-worker, mother, storyteller, and founder of the nonprofit organization Hike Clerb. Hike Clerb is an intersectional women’s outdoor club that builds representation and participation of people of color in the outdoors. Hike Clerb equips BIPOC women with the tools, resources, and experiences needed to collectively heal in nature. There are many moments in Escobar’s journey that hint at nature's divinity. Though Hike Clerb was founded in 2017 in Los Angeles, we need to travel back to the East Coast and to Escobar’s childhood to understand its origins. Originally from the DMV, Escobar first connected with hiking on childhood vacations in L.A.
“The first time I went out there, I was 10. My aunt took myself and my brother to the Griffith Observatory and I just remember being in awe of how beautiful it was,” she says. “Years later, when I formed Hike Clerb… our first hike was actually to the Griffith Observatory. So it was very much a full circle moment.”
If you’ve been fortunate enough to find yourself in space untouched by man, you can understand how the beauty and inherent peacefulness of our Earth can inspire transformation. As Evelynn grew closer to the Earth and her marvels, understanding the need our planet has to be cared for and respected, she also grew closer to herself and her needs.
We are from the Earth, and we should care for ourselves the way we would a budding flower. We tend to think about wellness as something we do for ourselves as opposed to something we do for ourselves (we have good ol’ capitalism and social media to thank for that). We might think of things like skincare, vacations, and pilates when contemplating wellness culture. In reality, wellness is the practice of caring for the mind and body.
“Wellness really is the art of living well, living holistically, taking care of yourself. That's been something that I have looked into, paid attention to, and been conscious of one way or another since I was a kid,” Escobar says. “I was the kid who would go to the bookstore to buy books on astrology, numerology, all these things, to just understand myself better— then pairing that with the rituals and practices that I would learn from my family, being Black and Indigenous.”
Her approach to wellness is one that stems from self-understanding and allowing the Earth to be an aid in strengthening the connection between our innermost selves, nature, and the vast and infinite universe.
It’s crucial that we remember and recognize that spirituality in connection with nature is rooted in Indigenous beliefs and practices (which are also sustainable by nature). As a Black and Indigenous woman, Escobar's identity plays a huge role in her relationship with nature and wellness.
“I always had a tie to those places, being Black, being Indigenous. My family is Maya K’iche’ from what we now call Guatemala. Seeing the elements used indoors, whether that was smudging incense, lighting candles, leaving water or other liquids in the form of offerings on alters,” she says.
The sense that all things are interconnected and that one plays a role in the grand ecosystem of things is an understanding that she has had from a young age. It has only grown deeper with the practice of reconnecting with herself, her ancestors, and her identity in the outdoors. It’s not uncommon for natural spaces and outdoor activities to be associated with whiteness. This perception can be attributed to the dispossession of people from their ancestral lands due to colonization, forced relocation, and discriminatory laws. As Eve continued her journey with the outdoors, she was saddened to see how women of color continue to be excluded from outdoor spaces,
“it was just something that was on my spirit to get other women, femme-identifying people out to be there in numbers and show that it matters to us,” she says.
Her work with Hike Clerb and her own wellness journey dismantle these associations, promoting inclusivity and BIPOC connection in outdoor spaces.
Experiencing and connecting with nature is a practice that strengthens both the body and the soul. At 23 years old, Escobar visited Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks for the first time. She would experience the beauty, gravity, and awe of the Earth but also feel othered on trails she was inherently connected to. Seeing herself in nature was a catalyst that would inspire others to do the same. When we see ourselves in nature, we open ourselves up to the inner work required to further understand that connection. Perhaps the most fruitful self-discovery can be found when we emulate the movements that lead to nature's cycles.
Nature does not know immediacy. Though humans have tried and innovated to accelerate her bearings, she will always operate at the pace she needs to accomplish her wonders. Earlier this year, Escobar uploaded a note to her Instagram followers,
“after what felt like a rapid-fire year of projects in 2022, I’m happy to report that we are approaching 2023 slowly and intentionally…. we’re reprogramming our cells to strive for nourishment, balance, and contentment instead of external metrics of success.”
She and Hike Clerb didn’t have their official kick-off to the year until March, during the astrological new year, and the coming of Spring. If nature knows when to be reborn, why do we force ourselves out of our chrysalis in the dead of winter?
”You can take a break, you can operate on your own timeline, you can operate within your own divine timing. ”
In this way, we can mimic nature to our advantage when navigating virtual spaces (and algorithmic influence) and their growing culture of immediacy. By leading from a place of your own wellness, you will never miss out on anything that is meant for you. It’s ultimately also you prioritizing yourself in a world that won’t do it for you.
I did ask Escobar about the inspiration behind her OOO email, and I was happy to find out it is rooted in self-preservation and the healing of scarcity mindsets. Being the executive director of Hike Clerb and a creative in an influential position, the amount of people wanting access to her and her offerings has grown. Setting boundaries between herself and those she collaborates with is crucial to maintaining authenticity and attracting abundance.
“People will take what they can if you're willing to give it. I definitely was someone who had to get over that hump of getting away from saying yes, and getting away from being in sort of a scarcity mindset” she says. “When I choose myself, more opportunities that are aligned with where I'm at will come. Seeing that happen in real-time is truly the affirmative, sort of safety net needed to continue on that path.”
Escobar believes that to stretch herself thin would be a disservice to her well-being and the part of herself that she offers the world. It’s an intentionality that we should all hope to incorporate into our daily lives. We are also honored that our conversation with Escobar came as the result of an intentional choice and the welcome intersection of our paths.
Slowing down, living intentionally, and healing through nature are practices that may have been lost to us through generational trauma and the demanding nature of our capitalist society. But that doesn’t mean that these practices cannot be woven back into our way of life. As the mother of two-year-old Isla, Escobar has learned as much about slowing down and cycle-breaking from motherhood as from hiking.
“Everything to her is new. Every emotion and feeling that she's having is the biggest at that moment… I am so thankful that she reminds me to breathe, to be my own biggest champion, and take care of myself. That way, I can show up, not only for myself but for her and for others.” she tells us.
Our society would have us believe that the idea of nature as a mother is an archetype of the infinitely giving woman, however, nature as the mother teaches us that life is not solely about giving, but also about balance and regeneration. It demonstrates the cycles of birth, growth, decay, and renewal that are intrinsic to all living beings. We don’t need to be parents in order to understand these lessons of motherhood; just as a mother nurtures her children, nature provides us with resources and reminds us of our responsibility to care for and protect the delicate ecosystems that sustain us.
Escobar's personal connection with nature inspires us to incorporate practices of self-preservation, healing, and mindfulness into our own lives, regaining the lost wisdom of generations and reclaiming a more intentional and harmonious way of being. In a society that pressures us to constantly be available and achieve instant success, her intentional approach to life challenges a culture of immediacy and invites us to honor our own divine timing. (Bring back the days when we could only contact each other via carrier pigeon!) We can’t wait to see how Hike Clerb (now operating bi-coastally!) continues to grow and how Isla follows in her mother’s steps <3.
