lqb2weekly #166 (2 feb 2022)
hey,
happy black history/futures month and lunar new year and snow new moon!
i kicked off BHM by taking a bath and reading these super cool forgotten black pioneers my uncle shared with me. i learned so much so quick. is james forten my new hero? not sure, but i like what he did with his money!
in other news (which is also black history lol), my annual reflection retreat happened jan 1 and 3-7 and it was incredibleeeeee. it included a magical af bath in a wooden bathtub so large my lower body could float (thank you c & d!), my tarot spread for the year with a dear friend (g!), being hosted by two friends (g & j!), and doing lots of reading. and of course all my usual looking back at my calendar, budget, and vision and values statement to see if they aligned. and then time planning out how to make them align better in 2022 (or keep them aligned where they already were). speaking of… i’m still trying to figure out all my plans with my some of my friends (if that’s you, sorryyyyy, i will get to scheduling w/ you, i promise). anyway, stay tuned for some blog posts about all that. while i ideate and write all those, here is one nugget discerned during retreat: one of my top priorities for this year is live a life that is full and focused (not busy).
alsooooo, i am learning this choreo (full speed here) for my friends’ (the two that hosted me earlier) wedding. phew! 15m/day for like 2 weeks and i can finally get through it without mistakes (or i can at least turn mistakes into something that looks like i meant it lol). v fun. anyone else wanna invite me to dancey weddings?
in the last newsletter i gave not one but TWO bad links to my friend cynthia’s fundraiser for bcnc via the boston marathon. here is a correct link (triple checked!) and now she’s almost halfway there. give if you got it like that.
my friend and collaborator, angie, wrote a lovely missive that is worth reading and sharing. here’s a quick summary: I’m proud to share an open letter that my mom, Claire, and I have written to those who find themselves feeling spiritually hungry right now. We’ve written it especially for anyone in their 20s who is feeling lost, anxious, and alone. We do our best to articulate what has given us solace, clarity, and meaning in life, in hopes that it might help others to find the same.
finally, my friend and teacher, gibrán, is offering group coaching starting soon. this is going to be epic and if you have financial means to pay for it, it will transform your life, no questions asked. in addition to that, i also love his clarity: group work IS more powerful than individual work. i so rarely (never?) hear people discuss group coaching this way. time to update my own language/thinking. 🤯
on to the things!
(!!) pick of the pack
ps - this edition of lqb2weekly was sent from 32,000 feet in the air. 12 year-old me could have never predicted this moment 20 years ago. i wonder what 52 year-old me will be experiencing 20 years in the future…
writing
some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:
Jan 22, 2022 | 2022 honor tax commitment
quotes
lots of quote here to inspire the beginning of your 2022. skip past them once they get overwhelming. :)
I think of the trees and how simply they let go, let fall the riches of a season, how without grief (it seems) they can let go and go deep into their roots for renewal and sleep…
Imitate the trees. Learn to lose in order to recover, and remember that nothing stays the same for long, not even pain, psychic pain. Sit it out. Let it all pass. Let it go. — May Sarton
the function of freedom is to free someone else. — Toni Morrison
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. — Nelson Mandela
The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything except our thinking. Thus, we are drifting toward catastrophe beyond conception. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive. — Albert Einstein
You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens. — rumi
love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new. — Ursula K. LeGuin
If the way we live does not praise life, then we are not alive. A lot of would-be changers of the world’s ills live their entire lives not as praise, but as a big fat ongoing complaint. For sure there is a time for protest, let there be no doubt. But if we have never seen what life could really be, then we don’t know what to struggle for! — Martín Prechtel
If what we change does not change us we are playing with blocks. — Marge Piercy
The person who gets 1 shot needs everything to go right.
The person who gets 1000 shots is going to score at some point.
Find a way to play the game that ensures you get a lot of shots. — James Clear
It is wonderful how much work can be got through in a day, if we go by the rule—map out our time, divide it off, and take up one thing regularly after another. To drift through our work, or to rush through it in a helter-skelter fashion, ends in comparatively little being done. “One thing at a time” will always perform a better day’s work than doing two or three things at a time. By following this rule, one person will do more in a day than another does in a week. — Thomas Mitchell
When you are a young person, you are like a young creek, and you meet many rocks, many obstacles and difficulties on your way. You hurry to get past these obstacles and get to the ocean.
But as the creek moves down through the fields, it becomes larges and calmer and it can enjoy the reflection of the sky. It’s wonderful. You will arrive at the sea anyway so enjoy the journey. Enjoy the sunshine, the sunset, the moon, the birds, the trees, and the many beauties along the way. Taste every moment of your daily life. — Thich Nhat Hanh
poetry
won’t you celebrate with me by lucille clifton
reads
some things i’ve read since the last newsletter:
New England is warming faster than the rest of the planet, new study finds | The Boston Globe (!!)
Planting Seeds: There is no white supremacy culture | Jill Lee
reflections on 2021: monastic friendship and community | KatieGordon
Men, Status, and the World of Crypto Art | The Mandate Letter
Relaxing Is a Skill. Here’s How to Do It. | The New York Times
‘Top’ church official says gay sex within the Vatican has ‘never been worse’ | Queerty
listens
some audio and/or podcasts i’ve listened to since the last newsletter:
We Are Relatives, the Struggle for Land and Water | When We Fight, We Win!: The Podcast
Oliver Burkeman – Time Management for Mortals | On Being with Krista Tippett (!)
Growing a Global Heart with Belvie Rooks | The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant
Elaine Enns, Ched Myers and “Beyond Vietnam” | The Iconocast (!!)
watches
some videos i watched since the last newsletter:
jams
some things i’ve been (aurally) enjoying since the last newsletter:
most men — amber mark
healing hurts — amber mark
all eyes on me — earthgang
my queen in albertina sisulu — sons of kemet
jobs
Operational Wellness Director | One Square World | $75-85k (this is my friend’s org and they are doing FIRE work right now)
Program Manager, Asia and the Pacific | Thousand Currents | $65-70k
Director, Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership | ICA Group | $68-73k
West Coast Regional Partnership Manager | UpTogether | $75-90k | Remote
Lead Organizer | SISTA Fire / Center for Community Transformation | $52-55k | Providence, RI
director of narrative strategy | justice funders | $85k
housing
A friend is looking for a new place to live, preferably (but not exclusively) in Cambridge, Somerville, or JP. Rent under $900. Available to move-in any time after 2/1. More about him:
I’m a 23-year old white, queer, gender non-conforming man, vaccinated & boosted, mostly vegetarian. I work both at home and in the office. I like to play card/ board games, cook, read, make & write music, dance, craft, bike, and be among trees. As a housemate, I like to keep things clean, and build relationships with the people I live with through sharing food and generally hanging out. Big fan of direct communication and intentionality around conflict resolution and domestic labor practices.
Please send any leads to jordanmudd54@gmail.com!
upcoming events
Octavia Butler Study Hall: Writing Magical, Imaginative Fiction | Feb 5, 10:30a ET | Online
Exploring the Green Book: A Lifeline for African Americans Traveling in the Northeast | Feb 5, 10:30a ET | Online
HeART Journaling | Every Thursday in Jan & Feb, 12p ET | Online
$$ (fun-raising)
other opportunities
Group Coaching | Join Our Coaching Cohort, Winter-Spring 2022 | Gibrán Rivera
White Men to Explore Humble Leadership towards Racial & Gender Justice | Three Sessions: March 8, 15, 29 (2-5pm ET, on Zoom)
Mass Cultural Council Seeks Public Input on COVID Relief Program
The Agency is seeking feedback from all stakeholders to determine what types of assistance programs are considered most helpful or necessary by artists and cultural organizations. Those who prefer to submit written comments can do so until 5pm on February 7, 2022.
Reading Work - Open Call (get paid to read abolitionist texts)
Rivers of Kusir: Path & Purpose - Men's Integrity Circle 2022
newsletters
solstice newsletter: newsletter #3
emet ezell: purple with red
building belonging: Democracy is the structure of belonging
astroradicals: THE MOOD: Pave with Purpose
right now i’m learning…
about personal knowledge mastery via harold jarche and about how to build a coaching business from muriel wilkins.
mood
