so it seems i’m finding my way into an “lqb2monthly” rhythm maybe in all seasons (i was thinking monthly was more of a winter rhythm). i would loooooove to get this out more frequently but if i look at what is, 1x/month seems to be what’s happening. noticing, noticing… practicing being non-judgmental (so hard lol).
anywho, there are so many personal updates to share but the only thing i actually want to write out right now is to explain my “what i’m learning” from may:
right now i’m learning…
that spring is officially my least favorite season. i still like it. but it’s my least favorite now.
so hear me out. i know this is an unpopular opinion but here’s my thinking: summer is by far my fav season. winter has moved into 2nd place because of how it encourages/supports internal work and slowing down. that leaves fall and spring vying for 3rd and 4th place. they’re both transition seasons (of course everything is always changing) but fall transitions from summer (high activity) to winter (low activity). spring does the opposite. and this year, i have realized that speeding up feels worse/harder for me than slowing down. like, in fall, i am letting things go and moving towards doing less. it’s hard, but the end result is chill times. in spring, i feeling snatched out of my slower rhythms into doing way too much.
also in summer and winter you can look outside and basically tell what temperature it is and therefore know how to dress. in spring and fall, that shit is mad misleading many days. and also changes wildly during a single day.
also, tree sperm (aka pollen —> allergies).
tell me i’m wrong. :D
ok anyways, some other fun updates from friends and community:
omgomgomg mariame kaba started a newsletter. if you’re into (or want to be into) abolition, i suggest signing up immediately.
another thing: check out this awesome resource, decarcerating care, from my friend and ex-board member colleague, joby. here’s a quick summary of the thinking it’s rooted in:
As the movement for racial justice gains momentum in the United States, there has been a lot of conversation around how to divest funding from the police and reallocate it to mental health care. Although the notion to replace “cops” with “care” is well-intentioned, psychiatric survivors, their family members, and advocates are well acquainted with the oppressive nature of the mental health system. Too often, both mainstream and progressive group discussions immediately revert to a model of "caring" for "the mentally ill" in hospitals and other confined settings that are functionally no different than the jails and prisons that they propose to replace.
check out this dope retreat from nisha, a close collaborator and friend:
Dear beloveds,
I hope this finds you connecting with your essence.
I’m overjoyed to announce an offering I’m putting out in the world this October 5-8 at the Watershed Center in Millerton, NY on lands of the Schaghticoke, Munsee Lenape, and Mohican people.
The Rebirth Retreat is for Black, Indigenous, and immigrant women and gender non-binary people of color who are committed to the interconnected work of inner transformation and collective liberation. It will be a space for us to be in circle with other powerful beings and to deepen and expand our liberatory practices in the service of rebirthing ourselves and reimagining what the future holds for us and our people.
I am co-facilitating this retreat with Ana Polanco, a powerful intuitive healer, leadership coach, and culture change midwife.
We’ve set up an information page and waitlist for those who want to get the information first. Feel free to forward it to other women of color and gender nonbinary persons of color who you might want to join us on this sacred journey of rebirthing and reimagining.
Rebirth Retreat Watershed Center October 5 - 8, 2023
also, my friend, ali, is doing a public launch of her community matchmaking service! she’s been at for years and is V good at this work and i highly recommend it if you’re looking for partnership. my fav thing about her stance is that she believes finding partnership is a community effort. i love that she challenges the way (most) apps individualize the process. anyway, check it outtttt and read through. even if you’re not looking for partnership, maybe someone you know is:
With You Matchmaking is Ali’s Boston-area matchmaking business! Check out her website to learn more about how to support her community-funded model by becoming an annual community member to make her matchmaking work possible (and definitely consider joining her list of 170+ people if you are looking to meet someone!): tinyurl.com/WithYouMatchmaking
also, boston folks: save the date: August 27th! we are planning a Liberation Tarot Deck launch event. you don’t wanna miss it. me and emet and elicia will all be there (!!!) details forthcoming.
ok there really is more to share but substack is like… you are almost at your character limit so i’m gonna stfu and get on with it…
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).
Our tendency to cling to the broken thing we have rather than let it go and reach for something new isn’t just a result of social learning. The stress (fear, anxiety, etc.) underlying the belief changes our decision-making, so that the more stressed we feel about change, the less likely we are to do it. — burnout by emily and amelia nagoski
Many people assume they are bad at writing because it is hard. This is like assuming you are bad at weightlifting because the weight is heavy. Writing is useful because it is hard. It’s the effort that goes into writing a clear sentence that leads to better thinking. — James Clear
If you need 10 of something, make 30. Then pick the best. — Rick Rubin
I come out to these solitudes, where the problem of existence is simplified. I get away a mile or two from the town into the stillness and solitude of nature, with rocks, trees, weeds, snow about me. I enter some glade in the woods, perchance, where a few weeds and dry leaves alone lift themselves above the surface of the snow, and it is as if I had come to an open window. I see out and around myself. … This is what I go out to seek. It is as if I always met in those places some grand, serene, immortal, infinitely encouraging—though invisible—companion, and walked with him. — Henry David Thoreau
Change is not a bolt of lightning that arrives with a zap. It is a bridge built brick by brick, every day, with sweat and humility and slips. It is hard work, and slow work, but it can be thrilling to watch it take shape. — Sarah Hepola
Know how to leave things alone, for if knowing how to refuse is one of life’s great lessons, an even greater one is knowing how to say no to yourself, to important people, and in business. There are non-essential activities, moths of precious time, and it’s worse to take an interest in irrelevant things than to do nothing at all. — Baltasar Gracian
People don’t need enormous cars; they need admiration and respect. They don’t need a constant stream of new clothes; they need to feel that others consider them to be attractive, and they need excitement and variety and beauty. People don’t need electronic entertainment; they need something interesting to occupy their minds and emotions. And so forth. Trying to fill real but nonmaterial needs—for identity, community, self-esteem, challenge, love, joy—with material things is to set up an unquenchable appetite for false solutions to never-satisfied longings. A society that allows itself to admit and articulate its nonmaterial human needs, and to find nonmaterial ways to satisfy them, world require much lower material and energy throughputs and would provide much higher levels of human fulfillment. — Donella Meadows
People who don’t trust or are untrustworthy are energy drains. — burnout, nagoski sisters
the truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. — gloria steinem
We don’t need other people’s love in order to love our-selves; we don’t need a romantic partner to be “complete.” But we need other people to teach us how to love ourselves best. — burnout, amelia and emily nagoski
Neighborhood Birth Center: Manager of Communications and Engagement (link) and Manager of Sustainability and Operations (link) - $70k
City Life/Vida Urbana: Bilingual Community Organizer - $50-60k (link)
Community Servings: Volunteer Coordinator - $65k (link)
I Have a Future: Co-Lead Organizer - $65k (link) and Admin Organizer, $21/hour PT (link)
housing
my friend nadeem is looking for a lodging situation! here’s some deets:
Central or Kendall ish. Open to roommates I’ll be around half or 1/3 of the time. Flexible on setup if I’m alone just a 1 bed ideally. People can text message that’s ideal!! 617.938.8881. When is flexible.
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.
(now that i have a car) to just always be ready to swim now that it’s summer. always have towels, shorts, sunscreen, and a speaker in the trunk. there’s literally no reason to not.
mood
#summahtime
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This is always super rich, maybe overwhelmingly so! Don’t feel bad about going monthly. Might work even better! Also, thank you always for the shout outs. I am honored by the gift of your attention.
This is always super rich, maybe overwhelmingly so! Don’t feel bad about going monthly. Might work even better! Also, thank you always for the shout outs. I am honored by the gift of your attention.