Aryn Henning Nichols

It’s people’s differences that make this world a beautiful, complex, fascinating place. They can also make us feel isolated and angry. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a time where it felt like, as a society, we were more divided. Every issue feels like a polarizing issue, every disagreement an insurmountable wall.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. 

There are more than eight billion humans living on this planet, all connected through our shared humanity. There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human genome. Between 1990 and 2003, all 23 pairs were fully sequenced through an international research project, the Human Genome Project (genome.gov). According to their findings, the DNA of any two human beings is 99.9 percent identical. The complexity of our DNA means that .1 percent attributes to all of our differences (whoa).

We get so worked up about those differences, we often fail to recognize just how much we have in common. 

Beyond our DNA, we share the same needs within a society. Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? Here’s a quick recap. This psychological theory says that all require, generally in this order of priority:

Survival – basic biological requirements to live: air, food, water, warmth, shelter.

Safety – security:  personal safety, financial security, health, and a secure environment.

Love and Belonging – human connection and a sense of belonging, potentially through friendship, family, or romantic relationships.

Esteem – self-respect, respect from others, or a sense of accomplishment.

Self-Actualization – desire to achieve one’s potential and live a meaningful life.

That means we are all just trying to first, survive, and second, find a bit of happiness. 

Of course, we won’t all want the same things, but I believe that if the things that make you happy do not hurt anyone else, you should be able to do them. The same goes for someone else. 

My hope is that we will all spend some time trying to better understand each other this holiday season, this next year, and beyond, and that we will all try to approach each other with patience, empathy, compassion.

Because when we realize all that we have in common, we are much more likely to band together. And the power of the people is strong AF. Eight billion of us. Gosh, even just a fraction of that number, working together, would be astounding. Think of all the good we could accomplish! Let’s do it, friends.

Cheers to a New Year filled with common ground. We’ve got this.

XOXO – Aryn

Finding Common Ground.

What can we do, right now?

Engage across differences
Put down your phone and talk to the people around you

Connect
Join a group or community of any size. Book club, walking group, dance class

99.9% 
According to the Human Genome Project, the DNA of any two human beings is 99.9 percent identical (genome.gov)

Soften your heart
Approach conversations with empathy.
Pause
Breathe
Stay calm and curious.

Changing your mind…
…is not a failure.
…takes courage.
…is not impossible.

Listen more; speak less

Be open to learning.
The ability to educate ourselves is a privilege. And when we know better, we can do better.

Here are some good things to add to your mind palace:

Pluralism – according to Cambridge Dictionary: the existence of different types of people, who have different beliefs and opinions, within the same society.

Civil discourse – respectful and intentional conversation focused on understanding different viewpoints to advance public interest.

Recognize Commonalities

Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? We all need (in order of priority):

Survival
Safety
Love & Belonging
Esteem
Self-Actualization

What can we do, right now?

Buy local and support your neighbors 

Speak up
for those neighbors, for their rights, their contributions, their needs

Read and support local news
being aware of what is happening in a community and how it all works creates a more invested population. When you read other people’s perspectives, try to understand where they’re coming from.

Volunteer 
your time or help someone in need (also accept help from others). It creates positive vibes for both the giver and the receiver.

Donate
to a group or organization that aligns with your values

Say thank you 
(and you’re welcome). Small (and big) appreciations matter.

One of the best things we can do to feel connected with others is to share the kind things we think about and hope for them. Inspired by a project at my friend, Lynsey’s, baby shower, we put together this sweet project where you write heartfelt notes to loved ones for the New Year or for birthdays! 

As we approach New Year’s Eve, think about your own intentions for the upcoming year, but also about the good things you’d love to see happen for your friends, family members, and neighbors. Then, let them know what positive things you’re hoping for them by filling out (and giving them) one of these notes!

Or, maybe your bestie has a birthday coming up? This would be a really sweet way to let them know you love them and are manifesting the best for them in their next turn around the sun.

Cheers to New Years ahead, friends! Thanks for being Inspire(d)!

XOXO, 

-Aryn

Supplies:
Scissors or guillotine paper cutter (the latter is my personal preference, but scissors work)
Pen or Markers
Card templates printed on card stock
– Colorful front
– Gold front
– Back (print on back of one of the above)

Directions:
Print the cards you want to use (colorful or gold or a mix of both) on card stock. Make sure to print the fill-in-the-blank back on the opposite side of the colored printout (same piece of card stock).

Use the guillotine paper cutter to cut the cards in half.

Or if you’re planning to use scissors, fold the card stock in half, then cut along the fold.

Think about the person you’re planning to give this card to, and then fill in the blanks!

And the commence the good New Year (or birthday) vibes by giving this sweet heartfelt note to your loved one! Cheers to Another Year!

One might assume an artist chooses a solitary path. A painter sketches a landscape alone in a studio. A solo musician quietly practices violin. A writer hunches over a computer, birthing their next novel.

The path each has selected – or been called to – places them distant from other people.

Or does it? Perhaps not always. 

“Working at my bench with music playing in the background is my happy place,” artist Liz Bucheit readily admits. But she is far from isolated.

Liz, born in Decorah, Iowa, now a resident of Lanesboro, Minnesota, is an artist, a goldsmith, and an award-winning designer of exquisite jewelry. Liz is also a lover – and a builder – of community. 

“Community is absolutely essential for all creatives,” she says. “Connecting with other people is part of how artists learn and find our inspiration.” 

Liz graduated from the University of Iowa with a Master of Arts in Metalworking and Jewelry, and went on to develop her craft in Iowa, Minneapolis, New York, California, and even Japan, managing a jewelry department of a major department store. She eventually came back to the Midwest, establishing her own business, Crown Trout Jewelers, in 1996 in Lanesboro (and moonlighting as a jewelry expert on ShopNBC in Minnesota from 2010 to 2014). 

At Crown Trout, Liz designs gorgeous pieces of jewelry for local and national clients, and even for celebrity musicians, like Cher and Prince. Recently, another famous prince received a piece of Liz’s artistry: the Crown Prince of Norway. 

“I had the singular honor to be commissioned by Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum to create a gift of jewelry for Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, Princess Mette-Marit,” she says. “I made a blue topaz necklace for her, and a matching lapel pin for him.” Her gifts were presented to His Royal Highness on the occasion of his early October 2025 visit to Decorah, Iowa.

Liz has an entire Norwegian collection of jewelry, inspired by trips to Vesterheim Museum as a child, as well as many trips to Norway over the years. During those trips to Norway, Liz worked with different artists, creating strong bonds both professionally and personally. She is now the designated American affliate for Sylvsmidja, Norway’s leading jewelry brand. 

“People in America needing traditional silver bunad jewelry repair would normally have to send their jewelry back to Norway,” Liz says. “Now they can have me do that work here. It gives me wonderful opportunities to meet people from all over.”

And these days, visitors to Vesterheim’s National Norwegian-American Museum can find themselves inspired by Liz’s own work. The museum recently purchased Liz’s Freya’s Tears Brooch for its permanent collection. The brooch is currently on view in the Past, Present and Future of Traditional Folk Art exhibition through January 2026.

Creativity, hard work, and special honors have given Liz a busy and multifaceted life. A favorite way she connects with others is through teaching. 

“Teaching allows me to share my art by passing it along to others,” she says. “I also find I learn so much from my students! I greatly enjoy the fellowship and the interconnectivity that happens when people create together. We help each other. We also exchange stories and build friendships. When people of different ages do these kinds of activities together – adults, children, grandparents – that can be really special.”

She has taught for decades at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais and regularly leads classes and workshops at the American Swedish Institute and at Norway House, both in Minneapolis. She is actively involved at Vesterheim in Decorah, often instructing in classes there, too. And in recent years, she has begun to offer classes in partnership with Lanesboro businesses, including popular small group workshops (where pre-registration is required) at Sylvan Brewery.

“On a Sunday afternoon we’ll have about a dozen people making Saami-inspired, four-braid color bracelets,” she says. “All skill levels and always fun.”

Liz much prefers in-person classes over online ones. In person, folks can literally connect with each other, both in class and in the future. “You’ll often see people staying after class is over just to talk,” she says. “You can watch community forming and growing in settings like that.”

Of all the communities Liz enjoys and is helping to build, none are more meaningful to her than her local connections. Her husband, Michael, has established his own marketing business in Lanesboro, and the couple lives and shares studio and workspace in their historic building right downtown.

Last fall, Lanesboro Arts – located less than half a block away from the Crown Trout building – created a gallery exhibit of Liz’s personal work. Titled “Hand of the Huldra: The Silver Filigree Jewelry of Liz Bucheit,” the exhibit featured contemporary pieces evoking the spirit of Norwegian “Huldra,” mystical forest spirit-creatures of Scandinavian folklore. 

Dozens of Liz’s friends and supporters from far and wide came to the exhibit’s opening reception.

“It was wonderful!” Liz says. “To have Lanesboro Arts create that exhibit was a heartfelt validation of my art by so many people who mean so much to me. Next year will mark 30 years that I’ve been living and working in Lanesboro. Some people think a small town with a population of less than 750 people wouldn’t be a place to do what I’ve done. But this community has been so supportive of me as an artist and of my business.”

Liz Bucheit. Individual artist, yes. Community builder, certainly. “Intentionally connecting with other people is a vital piece of all that I do, and all that I am,” she says. “I am very thankful.”

Steve Harris

Steve Harris (sharris1962@msn.com) is a freelance writer who lives in Lanesboro with his wife, Sue, proud wearer of a Saami-inspired bracelet she created in one of Liz’s classes!

To learn more about the art of Liz Bucheit, and about her upcoming schedule of classes, visit crowntroutonline.com

Sign up for a Winter 2026 Saami Inspired Bracelet Class at Sylvan Brewery in Lanesboro, MN here!