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A reflection on the incredibly timely work of the great writer Octavia Butler.

How can we heed Butler’s advice and become “opportunistic” at a time like this, when basic survival often feels like the only possible goal? What could it mean to “adapt” at this time, without losing our core values and beliefs?

Octavia Butler was born and raised in Pasadena. While she primarily worked in the genre of science fiction,  many have noted how her visionary writing about Los Angeles and our 2025 world has been spot-on relevant as of late. Particularly in  Parable of the Sower, Butler imagines a world where the lead character observes her neighbors rigidly clinging to old constructs that prove to be dangerous and untenable in a world devastated by climate change. The core message of the book is about tenacity and the importance of being resilient in impossible times and circumstances. “All successful life is adaptable, opportunistic, tenacious, interconnected, and fecund” she writes. “Understand this. Use it.”

📷 (L) Octavia Butler (R) ‘Parable of the Sower’ Cover art by Paul Lewin entitled “The Offering,” in which a woman gives an offering to a hummingbird. ‘This reminded me of the main character Lauren Olamina, offering what she’s learned to the world in the form of a new religion. Her rare hyper empathy syndrome makes her a “sharer”, someone who feels what other people––and, to a lesser extent, animals––feel when they’re in pleasure or pain’. 

This was a message explicitly directed at a moment like the one we are living now.  But how can we heed her advice and become “opportunistic” at a time like this, when basic survival often feels like the only possible goal? What could it mean to “adapt” at this time, without losing our core values and beliefs? “All that you touch you change”, Butler writes. “All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change.” In her writing, she asks us to be mutable, adaptable, even agreeable to being changed.

While most of us feel are feeling rightfully fearful about the future and what is taking place in our government right now, change may feel more threatening than anything else. And yet some are tapping into the powerful motivation that this terrifying moment can give us to get and stay connected and to continue to strengthen our resolve not to give up hope. It can be so easy to succumb to feelings of overwhelm and despair in the face of so much destruction, and so little inspiration. Yet Butler reminds us to “forget inspiration” and that “habit is more dependable.” “Habit”, she writes, “will sustain you whether you are inspired or not. Habit is persistence in practice.”

What habits are we forming that will sustain us in these times? What practices are we learning/ have we developed that are grounding us against the relentless tyranny rising up all around us?

A routine of exercise and embodied movement is best practiced as a habit. If regularly practiced, a routine of embodied movement can ground you in your own strength and purpose in ways that nothing else can. In re-reading Butler's words, I’ve found a reminder to be in my own body every day in a new way. I’ve found a call to action to adapt to these circumstances by building more strength, more flexibility, more willingness to change, to be vulnerable, to show up for myself and for others. There is tremendous strength in habitually committing to a practice that you return to daily that challenges you in some way. The plant that grows in sandy soil is always stronger and more resilient than the one in smooth soil.

Our goal is to provide you with fertile ground of one kind or another to plant your bodies and grow your practice here. We need all of our most tenacious and fecund selves to show up for this moment and everything that is to come.

-Sam/ EVERYBODY GM & Co-Founder

a brief history of octavia butler and altadena

Octavia Butler (1947-2006) was a highly celebrated and influential writer in the genre of science fiction, known for thought-provoking works that explored themes of race, gender, power, and ecological destruction. As an African American woman in a predominantly white and male genre, she brought new perspectives to the forefront. Butler was born in Pasadena and grew up in predominately Black neighborhoods in Pasadena and Altadena.

Butler’s most well-known novel is Parable of the Sower, published in 1993; in it she envisions a dystopian future ravaged by climate change, economic instability, and social unrest. The book, along with its sequel, Parables of the Talents, won several  major awards and established Butler as a visionary writer adept at predicting and dissecting societal trends. Her success gave her the means to purchase a home in Altadena.

- Kathleen McDonnell via altadenaheritage.org

📷 (L) Octavia Butler (R) Nikki High, owner of Octavia’s Bookshelf in Pasadena

Altadena (an unincorporated city north of Pasadena) holds a significant history as a haven for Black families seeking refuge from redlining and systemic oppression. Most notably, Altadena became a place where Black families could build generational wealth through homeownership, with a high percentage of Black residents owning their homes and building thriving communities. 

Below are a few resources for folks impacted by the Altadena fire (via Afropunk and Walk Good LA) and a few local Black-owned businesses we love, including Octavia’s Bookshelf, ‘an independent bookstore in Pasadena where readers of all ages and backgrounds will have a wonderful time exploring our store of books written by BIPOC writers.’ Owner Nikki High has temporarily transformed her store into a refuge for those displaced by the California fires. You can visit and support Octavia’s Bookshelf here.

RESOURCES FOR THOSE IMPACTED BY THE ALTADENA FIRE

Resources for those impacted by the Altadena fire (via Afropunk and Walk Good LA). Click images for direct links.

FROM THE ‘GRAM: local black & poc-owned businesses we love 💕

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A bittersweet message of resilience.

A bittersweet message of resilience to help ease us through yet another ‘unprecedented’ time. 

Our deepest sympathies and prayers for strength and recovery go out to our friends, family, members, and EVERYBODY team who have been displaced or devastated by the fires. We know many of our staff, members, and friends have been evacuated from their homes and remain uncertain about the status of their living situations. Tragically, we also know some in our community have confirmed total loss of their homes, apartments, and belongings. 

Our hearts go out to EVERYBODY staff members Sonny and Lena who lost their home in Altadena this week. If you have the means to donate, here is a link to their GOFUNDME. We wish them and everyone else who have lost so much to these fires a swift recovery from this loss and the ability to rebuild their homes and lives.

We know this is a challenging time for everyone and we want to make it clear that we are here to support our community in any way we can. May we all do what we can to help our city and neighbors rebuild their lives with our incredibly strong community support.🤍

Please visit @mutualaidla for a LIVE updating document and links to local and regional resources for folks impacted by the fires and those who wish offer support.

Jan. 10th also marks our 9th Anniversary and although it feels like a strange time to ‘celebrate,’ we’re sharing this story in hopes that it can serve as a bittersweet message of resilience to help ease us through yet another ‘unprecedented’ time. 

📷 Some TBT’s from 2016-2017: EVERYBODY Wellness Practitioner Lena, Blueprints, Construction, and our very first Member!

It is truly a miracle that we have reached this 9 year milestone of business operations. We've survived so much-- in our first year alone we got through a flood caused by a fallen telephone pole that crashed into our roof. (Hello?!) The next three years of business were financially tough as we grew and people started to slowly spread the word about our unique and inclusive model.  Just as we were getting some good traction, we faced a global pandemic that shuttered so many businesses and especially gyms-- but we survived thanks to our incredibly supportive community who kept taking classes online when we transitioned to a livestream platform overnight.

📹 EVERYBODY Yoga Instructor Liz screams into a pillow during a zoom class at the beginning of the Pandemic.

We had to remain closed for 6 months during 2020-2021, but folks continued to support us by coming and using the gym one at a time during peak Covid as the vaccines were being developed. We started offering offsite services as our van made our gym able to travel to beaches, pools and parks where open space and clean air allowed us to gather and hold space for our community coming out of isolation. We have continued to expand our online offerings into a full scale Video on Demand program for folks who prefer or are not able to make it to us in person. And since reopening our physical space in 2021 again, we have been able to grow our services, expand into new spaces and become the indispensable resource to our community that we are today. 

📷 Takin’ it Outside. And inside (your home).

In 2015 Co-owners Sam and Lake planted the seeds for a brave and inclusive environment for ALL bodies to move, strengthen and heal.

Most importantly, we’ve witnessed the power of community at work in times of struggle, loss, and utter disaster. And as our Friends, Family, and Members recover from deeply devastating losses, time strangely carries on. Anniversaries are important things, whether they help us remember achievements or losses, to celebrate or to mourn. They are necessary markings of time even during a time that feels entirely absent of the construct of time.

There will eventually be an anniversary of the Eaton Canyon/ Altadena (and other greater LA area) fires which destroyed so many homes (and places called home) for folks close in relation and proximity to us. And while that pain may never subside, we can find some healing and comfort in community, an outpouring of local mutual aid, and knowing that we will always have memories and stories of the deep roots and rich histories of such a magical place in our hometown of LA.❤️‍🩹

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