#435: SPOTLIGHT: Mia Brower

#435: Mia Brower

July 29, 2025

A Backbeat of Community 

Question for Mia: 

Can you recall a specific moment in the last four months that you were in what you would consider to be “nature” and thought or felt for at least a split second that “maybe all is actually right with the world” ?

 

Mia's Response: 

There’s something about stepping into the sunlight each morning that shifts the pace of my entire day. This morning, I stood on the balcony of the home where my family is staying in the Presidio of San Francisco. The city was stirring — sirens in the distance, a garbage truck already making its rounds — but the stillness of the backyard garden seemed to let the world slow down. 

I started to notice things: a dog bowl left out beside a trickling hose, a bed of strawberries, a pile of pistachio shells. These details — things I might not think twice about if I passed them on the street in a rush to somewhere else — reminded me of the quiet gifts nature gives without us asking. I looked up and around at the neighbors’ balconies, imagining a sunny day when more people would be out noticing, and wondering if, together, we might feel like everything was okay.