lqb2weekly #174 (15 june 2022)

Jun 15

hey,

preface: i didn’t proofread this edition of this newsletter. sorry for thypos and shit that don’t make sense.

omg ok finally the big announcement:

we bought a retreat center!!!

we meaning a big chunk of my boston-based organizing fam! you can check out our writeup over here and some photos from our first planning weekend here. the five adults in that top photo are the team who is currently at the core of the work but we are working on behalf of folks who have been dreaming of a rural retreat center for years (by some folks’ estimation: 20+ years). as one of the core folks, i see my role as helping to bring the space into operation, grow the team of folks holding this project, and make sure that we develop it in alignment with the biggest and boldest possible vision and values that we can. stay tuned for more announcements and info about this project over time. :D (also, there will definitely be chances for financial and other contributions but not yet. for now, we’re tryna figure out getting internet and how to get the grass cut lol).

thanks to danielle for the nudge to stop delaying sending out this good news. the nudge reminds me that in times when things are hard, we especially need good and stories of success. not as a way to ignore what’s hard, but to remember that ugly and beautiful things are always happening at the same time. it reminds me of something kendra said in a group text thread last week:

"this is the world I want to live in, where our response to the wickedness going on around us is to dive deeper into each other." — kendra lara

ok, now just one other thing to a few other things:

on to the things!

(!!) pick of the pack

writing

some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:

Jun 3, 2022 | on equity and liberation

quotes

there is nothing new under the sun.

There are years that ask questions and years that answer. — Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. — Dr. Mae Jemison

In the long-run, prioritization beats efficiency. — James Clear

When researching strategies, emphasize patterns over stories. One person succeeding means nothing. 100 people succeeding is a signal.
When explaining strategies, emphasize stories over patterns. People forget numbers and charts. Everyone remembers a great story. — James Clear

Reading is migratory, an act of transport, from one life to another, one mind to another. Just like geographic travel, reading involves estrangement that comes with the process of dislocating from a familiar context. I gather energy from this kind of movement, this estranging and unsettling, and I welcome it precisely because it’s conducive to examination, interrogation, reordering. Travel, imaginative or physical, can sharpen perception and force a measuring of distance and difference. — Jenny Xie

If an idea is true, criticism will not destroy it, but strengthen it. — James Clear

You need focus to become exceptional at anything.
Massive amounts of time and energy are wasted optimizing things that should be left undone.
You have to be great at saying no. — James Clear

Quality of life is having the freedom to make choices that are not fear based. Whether it’s the ability to choose the kinds of projects I want to take on and can learn from, or the ability to take a month off to travel. Freedom to choose is the ultimate luxury. — Danielle Colding

Before you try to increase your willpower, try to decrease the friction in your environment. — James Clear

Most big, deeply satisfying accomplishments in life take at least five years to achieve. This can include building a business, cultivating a loving relationship, writing a book, getting in the best shape of your life, raising a family, and more.
Five years is a long time. It is much slower than most of us would like. If you accept the reality of slow progress, you have every reason to take action today. If you resist the reality of slow progress, five years from now you’ll simply be five years older and still looking for a shortcut. — James Clear

You have to make your own happiness, wherever you are.
Your job isn’t going to make you happy, your spouse isn’t going to make you happy, the weather isn’t going to make you happy…
You have to decide what you want, and you have to find that way of doing it, whether or not the outside circumstances are going to participate in your success…
You have to be able to create your own happiness, period. And if you can’t, then you need to find a good shrink who can help you figure out what it’s going to take. — Debbie Millman