Goose released BIG MODERN! just before two sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden this summer. Fans were hyped. Vibes were high. Smiles were huge. The energy all weekend was incredible, with thousands of people coming together to celebrate the music and the community Goose has built over the years.
Amid the celebration, the Goose community experienced a heartbreaking loss.
In the hours that followed, the band faced an incredibly difficult decision about the next night's sold-out show at Central Park. Ultimately, they chose to play because they believed gathering together could offer comfort and connection during an unimaginable moment.
That care extended far beyond the music. Goose shared immediate mental health resources for anyone who needed support. They created space for breathwork, brought in grief counselors, and made room for smaller circles where people could process what they were experiencing together.
When you experience tragedy, the instinct can be to pull away, to go quiet, to carry it alone. But getting through the world's challenges, expected and unexpected, requires human connection. It requires showing up for each other, even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard.
At A New Earth Project, we believe in the power of community and collaboration. "We Do This Together" is our slogan. We collaborate because we know we find the real solutions when we're all sitting at the table, not when we're each off solving things alone. That's true for innovating new materials. And it's true for getting through grief.
We also believe that the health of all living beings is sacred. That includes the planet we're working to protect, and it includes every single person standing in a crowd at a show, or grieving quietly at home, or wondering if it's okay to reach out for help.
Becca Schusler, our Director of Wellness at Atlantic Packaging, put it this way:
"Reaching out for help is not an exception of strength, but an expression of it. We tend to treat asking for help like an admission of something that is broken within us, but really, it’s an acknowledgement that we were never meant to carry everything alone.
Grief and struggle are heavy. Community can share the weight. It’s a coworker checking in, it’s a team making space instead of business as usual, it’s the collective understanding that caring for each other is the work, not separate from it.
Community teaches us that we don’t have to wait until we’re at a breaking point, we don’t have to be ashamed, we don’t need the words to be just right, we just have to let someone in. We do this together."
Tragedy is part of life. None of us are exempt from it, and none of us are meant to carry it alone. If you are struggling right now, please reach out. 988 connects you to a crisis counselor anywhere in the country, 24/7, by call, text, or chat. NAMI's national HelpLine is 1-800-950-6264. They are an excellent resource and can connect you to local support wherever you are.
And always remember, reach out when you need a friend. #WeDoThisTogether
Read Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here.