hey,

so i am very annoyed! i think i had rsv which created the conditions for a sinus infection. started antibiotics today and i’m taking a super-strength one (because apparently we’re in an amoxicillin shortage) hoping that this knocks whatever this is out. ugh.

on a more personal front, earlier this week my dad was a part of a motorcade from jacksonville to tallahassee to protest ron desantis and the racist bullshit he is pulling, especially in the florida education system. i guess the apple (me) doesn’t fall that far from the tree (him), eh? it’s so annoying (dangerous?) that the first ap class i ever took was ap european history and now this homie wants to block the piloting of an ap african american studies. ugh. what a troll.

in other news, i wanted to send another bump for the upcoming meditation and coaching offerings i’ve got on deck.

me and tanzanite are offering a 4-week BIPOC relational mindfulness & storytelling series. if you like meditation and mindfulness yet feel like something is missing when you just practice on your own, relational mindfulness might help you find your way beyond the “meditation is a solo practice” lane and into the “mindfulness can help me at all moments of my day” lane.

also, check out my group coaching offering at the bottom of this page. there’s still open seats so if you’re interested, you’ve still got time!

ok and now for lots of opportunities and things from me and other friends/beloveds:

one of my woes, katherine evering-rowe, has been working on a creactive grief workbook! details here. their indiegogo is fully funded but if you want one, you’ve still got two weeks

i want to bring your attention to two housing posts down below, one for a bestie of mine, jaco, and another for a friend of a friend. they are for cambridge, ma and san francisco. if you live in those spots, please make sure to make it down that far in the newsletter.

my friend, paige curtis, is looking for a vineyard house as reparations. if you know anyone, hit her up please! she’s a dope writer and if you ever make through this newsletter to get down to the newsletter section, you’ll seen her publication, black ecologie, which is hilarious, incisive and delectable.

Paige Curtis is a solidarity economy movement worker and freelance writer looking to explore Martha’s Vineyard this summer. If anyone is interested in opening up their vineyard home to Paige, as a form of reparations, please get in contact with her at paigeycurtis@gmail.com.

some quicker bulleted highlights:

the converge network (one of my communities of practice) is launching its next network leadership training. it runs 4 april - 23 may.
my friend marlo’s next men’s group starts feb 28. he’s also got a new website where he shares his offerings (https://www.marlopedroso.com/) including psychedelic therapy
nadia khastagir, my dope ex-coworker, is available for collaboration.
this speculative budgeting workshop from autumn brown and AORTA looks dope. i want to go to this SO bad but can’t. anyone wanna go and share notes? :)

ok one last thought: we are about 4 weeks out from spring. if you haven’t started planning what you’re growing outside (even if it’s a single potted plant), now’s the time! this year i’m gonna try to step up my medicinals game. let’s see how it goes…

on to the things!

(!!) pick of the pack

writing

some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:

Feb 16, 2023 | more thinking: emergence, spontaneity, randomness, and impulsivity
Feb 14, 2023 | charted territory: routines in times of change
Feb 8, 2023 | self-mastery: positive intelligence saboteurs
Feb 7, 2023 | book review: the body keeps the score by bessel van der kolk

quotes

there is nothing new under the sun. also, full transparency, many of these quotes come from james clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter (which i love).

“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” – Eugene Ionesco
This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. … Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever come, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. — Rumi

Conflict is the spirit of the relationship asking itself to deepen. — Malidoma Somé

Beloved community is formed not by the eradication of difference but by its affirmation, by each of us claiming the identities and cultural legacies that shape who we are and how we live in the world. — bell hooks

Acting is not about putting on a character but discovering the character within you: you are the character, you just have to find it within yourself—albeit a very expanded version of yourself. — tina packer

The trick to viewing feedback as a gift is to be more worried about having blind spots than hearing about them. — James Clear

It doesn’t make sense to continue wanting something if you’re not willing to do what it takes to get it.
If you don’t want to live the lifestyle, then release yourself from the desire. To crave the result but not the process, is to guarantee disappointment. — James Clear

There seemed to be endless obstacles preventing me from living with my eyes open, but as I gradually followed up clue after clue it seemed that the root cause of them all was fear. — Marion Milner

Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won’t exist because you’ll have already shut it out… You can hear other people’s wisdom, but you’ve got to re-evaluate the world for yourself. — Mae Jemison

poetry

say yes by andrea gibson

reads

some things i’ve read since the last newsletter:

listens

some audio and/or podcasts i’ve listened to since the last newsletter:

watches

some videos i watched since the last newsletter:

jams

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

grow - a colors encore — facesoul
high frequency — whatevermike
fey nan bwa — issa el saieh

jobs

housing

jaco is looking for a housemate in the bay area
Maria and Pedro (and their 2yo Isabel) are looking for a place in Cambridge from mid-April to the end of May. They would be more than happy to take care of any pets and plants left behind, if you're out of town then. 1-bedroom flat, ~$2.5k, near the red line ideal. Email pedromo [at] gmail [dot] com.

upcoming events

Building Worker Power: Solidarity, Cooperation and Care | 24—26 March 2023 | University of Massachusetts Amherst
liberating our sorrow: BIPOC grief ritual | 11 & 12 march | online via zoom

$$ (fun-raising)

Kibilio Community and Farms - Embodied Healing Fellowship
selma, alabama - post-tornado contributions to the black belt community foundation
priestess of twerk

other opportunities

kinhood course: men’s* sex and sexuality
PROTECTING YOUR STORYTELLING POWER — Strategies For Black Artists
Bayard Rustin Residency
BOSTON ART WRITING FELLOWSHIP
Arts & Cultural Organizing Member Team: Micro-Learning Pod Facilitator 2023
2023 Forge Project Fellowship
Making it Public: for MA Artists, a free 5-week online training for artists of any discipline who would like to expand their tools to respond to Public Art Calls.
Nominations open: 2023 Newell Flather Award for Public Art. This award honors publicly nominated leaders with $5,000 of unrestricted funds for their contributions to the field.
Kibilio Community and Farms - Embodied Healing Fellowship

newsletters

black ecologie: Vol 7: finder's keepers
emet ezell: Memory, Magic, and Prophecy
building belonging: The paradox of transformation: acceptance as a precondition to change

right now i’m learning…

about via (farming while black).

mood

lqb2weekly

lqb2weekly #182 (18 feb 2023)