Credit: Sage Brown/High Country News Credit: Sage Brown/High Country News

YASSINE DIBOUN 
Business owner and endurance athlete
Portland, Oregon

I’ve been sober for 18 years now, but I always try to stay on the front lines so I don’t get complacent. I try to help folks who struggle with substance addiction redirect that energy into something positive, like movement, running and fitness. Getting outside and getting moving on a regular basis should be a regular part of your life for as long as you live. 

Cultivating a community is like a garden: Year after year, if you keep adding things and taking care of it, eventually the soil is going to become really healthy, and you’re going to have animals and insects coming in, and it’s going to be this harmonious garden that is bountiful. Connecting with others and putting yourself out there can open up a whole life that you never even dreamed of.

Sage Brown is an Oregon-based photographer whose work explores notions of place, identity and the human relationship to the natural world. He is most often found trail running with his canine best friend.

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This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline ‘Cultivating a community is like a garden’.

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