lqb2weekly #164 (21 dec 2021)

Dec 21, 2021

hey,

it’s end of the year and i am just about outta gas. thankfully, i’m off of work dec 22 - jan 9 and i’m v looking forward to it.

also. covid fucking sucks. and by covid i mean our response to it. and by our i mean systems in america (social, political, economic, in particular).

remember when tons of people were tryna force everything to get back to normal? well, imho, normal looks like: multiple public health crises, a shipping crisis, a peaking wage crisis (what some mislabel a “labor crisis” given billionaire wealth explosion during covid), a public education crisis (maybe also a private education crisis), and more. if you have never studied the fall of empires, it’s never too late to dig in.

and today is the solstice! shortest day of the year. celebrated in traditions worldwide and for millennia. what does the longest night of the year have to teach you and us? what are we learning from big darkness? what is possible in the dark that is not in the light? what access do we have to ourselves and each other when light is at its weakest? it’s not all bad. in fact, it may not be bad at all (despite our relationship to what lives in the dark).

anyway, here are a few more quick hits:

get paid $300 to read an abolitionist book and submit a response about it.
in honor of the passing of bell hooks, here is a link to all my highlights from all about love. enjoy. share.
a colleague is taking a month-long sabbatical. she says: “I am looking for a cabin/ space/ room that has easy access to nature, where I can rest, read, and ideally cook. I will not need wifi. If you know any such place where I can rest my head 2-3 days in January…” if you have any leads plz email: lawrence.barriner.ii+sabbatical@gmail.com and i’ll connect you.
if you’re a budding abolitionist and looking for ways to engage, check out black and pink’s holiday card campaign. you can write or send money, both are needed!
i let my first bonsai die. i’m very sad about it. 3 years in my care, 8 years old total. dang. :(
this potawatomi farmer family are friends of a friend and they’re raising funds. plz support if you got it. don’t if you don’t. https://venmo.com/u/mz_ladyfarmer

on to the things!
(!!) pick of the pack

writing

some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:

Dec 16, 2021 | cohabitation tips

quotes

lots of quote here to inspire and ground you at the end of the year. if skip past them once they get overwhelming. :)

Sometimes I write because there’s a crisis, and I want to talk about it. Sometimes I write because there is no crisis, and I don’t want to get out of the habit of writing. Sometimes I write because I have an idea I’d like to try out. At other times, I write because I have no idea at all, and I want to see what will happen if I simply start writing from my thoughts… — Samuel Delany

Emotions are tunnels. You have to go all the way through the darkness to get to the light at the end. — Emily Nagoski

Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. — Although made popular by John Lennon, and believed to have descended from an old indian proverb, its first contemporary use was by Fernando Sabino, a Portuguese author.

A fork in the road is not the end of the road. — djalòki dessables, inspired by Helen Keller quote “A bend in the road is not the end of the road…Unless you fail to make the turn.”

Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. — Rumi

Ordinarily we do not discover the wisdom of our feelings because we do not let them complete their work. We try to suppress them or discharge them in premature action. Not realizing that they are a process of creation which, like birth, begins as a pain and turns into a child. — alan watts

The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervenor. — Bill O’Brien

When considering a new project or opportunity, one of the first questions to ask is, “How do I want to spend my days?”
Make as few choices as possible that violate your answer.
Many opportunities seem exciting but actually give you less of the life you want. — James Clear

Train hard and focus on what you can control. — James Clear

If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we are not really living.
Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean a giving up of familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, relationships that have lost their meaning.
As Dostoevsky put it, “Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.” The real fear should be of the opposite course. — Gail Sheehy

Think about what you want today and you’ll spend your time.
Think about what you want in 5 years and you’ll invest your time. — James Clear

Someone else living a good life does not prevent you from living a good life.
There are many ways to win and plenty of space. — James Clear

You don’t need to catch every break if you’re willing to keep trying.
Every winner has an archive of losses, but each attempt creates the chance for a victory.
You need to be patient, but not passive. Active patience. — James Clear

I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty and joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. … The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. — Helen Keller

You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. — Marcus Aurelius

poetry

“It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear…” — on fear by osho

reads

some things i’ve read since the last newsletter:

listens

some audio and/or podcasts i’ve listened to since the last newsletter (so many good listens this round):

watches

some videos i watched since the last newsletter:

jams

some things i’ve been (aurally) enjoying since the last newsletter:

my top 100 songs on spotify for 2021 (thx to those of you who emailed me this link was broken last time. i figured out a workaround this time and checked it like 3 times. lmk if doesn’t work for you and you want it to!)

jobs

upcoming events

Reimagining Holidays: Light w/ my bae, luana | Saturday, December 25 1:00pm-2:00pm EST

$$ (fun-raising)

black and pink’s holiday card campaign.
potawatomi farmer family in need (see opening section)

other opportunities

Reading Work - Open Call (get paid to read abolitionist texts)
Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation 9 month cohort (!!) - applications due dec 30 (extension!!!)
opportunity to try out a men’s group - led by me and jon barry, jan-feb 2022

right now i’m learning…

that centering prayer and buddhist meditation have a lot in common.