lqb2weekly #192 (12 feb 2024)
hey,
it’s black history/futures month! last week i dreamt about being at a black conference… like that was the name of it: the black conference. lol. it was super excellent and involved lots of clip art and word art and things done by hand and no AI and both my parents were there and there were orange trees (which my grandpa loved). it felt like both the past and the future and that was very fitting, heh. anyway, in 2019 i wrote a flash fiction sci-fi story most days of feb. this year, i don’t think i’ll write at that same volume, but i want to write at least one story a week. here’s the archive of this year’s and the 2019 stories. enjoy!
in other news, did i mention my podcast is out?! the website is pretty basic for now (you can find it here on buzzsprout or on my website: http://lqb2.co/practice) but it exists. for the next few newsletters, i’ll focus on one episode just giving a couple highlights about it. this time: episode 0 and i’m the guest! ray, my friend and podcast producer extraordinaire, interviews me using the questions i’ll use with all the guests (at least for season 1). some highlights for me from this episode are talking about:
james baldwin talking about writing
a bunch of my practices including solo dating (or has harvey abaya calls it, "masturdating”), making connections, resting, resisting patriarchy, and more
enjoy!
oh, and i didn’t mention this in the last newsletter but… I WENT SURFING IN DEC (in LA) and i’m fucking hooked! i wrote all about it so feel free to read in there for the details. but in short: i learned about how surfing (like so many things) has been warped and stolen by colonialism and whiteness and what it looks like to be in/with it pre-colonially. and i’m for sure now on team “reclaim surfing from white, hyper-competitive, achievement-oriented, hyper-athletic, territorial surf culture." i’ve already surfed once in january and i’m planning on going at least once in feb. and if you want to give some money to the rad, BIPOC org (color the water) that taught me and teaches surfing to BIPOC as a practice of liberation, you can do that over here: https://www.patreon.com/colorthewater
a few other things:
my friend, nasya, has a new work home on the web. check it out: www.wideopenspaces.co. she’s all about helping people past/through their edges and she says “Wide Open Spaces is a labor of love and passion and idealistic conviction, in the name of ending the loneliness epidemic and creating new possibilities for connection.”
my friend is supporting a fundraiser for mr. o, a black disabled deaf elder, wrongly convicted as a teenager, who is coming home in feb. every contribution counts and could be a dinner or light bulb or appliance that mr. o doesn’t have to get on his own. the video about his story is awesome (note: turn on closed captions). also, please don’t share the fundraiser broadly (for now).
i participated in the jan 2024 boost your practice hosted by my friend and teacher and mentor, gibrán, and wrote a tonnnnnn as a result of it. you’ll see that represented in all the blog posts i’ve written since the last newsletter but also i’m making significant progress on my book. at the moment, i’m reviewing the first chapter fully laid out in what will be the final print version with all the formatting and whatnot and soon i’ll have to do one more final read through before getting self-published! big shoutout and thank you to christian and her DIY-ish package from her company, dynamic image publishing. stay tuned…
and finally, coaching for healing, justice, and liberation (the coaching school i attended), is taking applications for the 2-day intro to liberatory coaching (ILC) that i think basically everyone should take. i am a member of the first cohort of their 9-month program (CHJL 01 BAYBEEEEEE) and here’s more about the intro:
The ILC is a two-day virtual offering that teaches foundational leadership and coaching skills that you can use in almost any situation. Though really beneficial for coaches, the course is not exclusive to coaches. Honestly anyone looking to expand into their liberatory practices could benefit from the program, particularly folks in movement and social justice spaces, folks doing care work, or anyone in leadership positions.
CHJL offers the ILC a few times a year (they're currently enrolling participants for their May 7-8 session) and the registration fee is sliding scale. If you are considering participating in their next 9-month cohort, the ILC could be a great way to determine if the 9-month is right for you.
You can find the application link and more information on CHJL’s website. Here’s the FAQs and I can also connect you to the CHJL team to answer questions directly.
phew! ok. on to the things!
(!!) pick of the pack
writing
some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:
Jan 31, 2024 | sabbatical reflections: integration
Jan 31, 2024 | sabbatical reflections: coming back online
Jan 29, 2024 | book review: the art of receiving and giving: the wheel of consent
Jan 28, 2024 | what is 'enough' when you're working for justice?
Jan 28, 2024 | cohabitation experimentation
Jan 26, 2024 | sabbatical reflections: going offline
Jan 25, 2024 | sabbatical reflections: my partner
Jan 23, 2024 | 2024 intention: be like water (in all its forms)
Jan 22, 2024 | fasting for gaza
Jan 20, 2024 | grieve, even as things are getting better
Jan 20, 2024 | a couple thoughts on doing hybrid retreats
Jan 19, 2024 | when the person who caused harm is no longer around
Jan 18, 2024 | unleashing alternative futures: the time auditors (part 2)
Jan 17, 2024 | unleashing alternative futures: the time auditors
Jan 16, 2024 | sabbatical reflections: reading
Jan 14, 2024 | relationship styles: independent, dependent, interdependent, co-dependent and counter-dependent
Jan 13, 2024 | sabbatical reflections: wood stoves
Jan 12, 2024 | color the water: my first surfing lesson
Jan 11, 2024 | book review: anger: wisdom for cooling the flames by thich nhat hanh
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).
We have all been given a gift, the gift of life. What we do with our lives is our gift back. — Edo
When we think about the most precious things we have—number one, it’s our bodies, number two, it’s our time. — Dolores Huerta
Desire is a horse that wants to take you on a journey to spirit. — Malidoma Somé
A simple filter for managing your time: You’re not focused enough unless you’re mourning some of the things you’re saying no to. — James Clear
Think in decades and act in days. — Matt Griswold
If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures. — Musonius Rufus
The days can be easy if the years are consistent. You can write a book or get in shape or code a piece of software in 30 minutes per day. But the key is you can’t miss a bunch of days. — James Clear
The obvious way to buy back your time is to pay someone to do something for you. Pay the mechanic to change your oil or a dry cleaner to press your suit.
The less obvious way to buy back your time is to say no. Passing on a promotion might “buy” you more time with family. Declining the dinner invite might “pay” for the time you need to exercise. We buy back our time not only with the money we spend, but also with the opportunities we decline.
The more clearly you know how you want to spend your days, the easier it becomes to say no to the requests that steal your hours. — James Clear
Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. — Viktor Frankl
Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it’s a feather bed. — Terence McKenna
There is no win and no fail. There is only make. — Corita Kent
poetry
reads
some things i’ve read since the last newsletter:
The Secret To Marital Bliss Is Never Touching Each Other’s Laundry | Bustle
Yes, I’m Turning 50. No, I’m Not Really Ready. | The New York Times
What Is “Revenge Bedtime Procrastination”? | Sleep Foundation (!)
I Was Addicted to My Smartphone, So I Switched to a Flip Phone for a Month | The New York Times (!)
Calling for an Immediate Negotiated Ceasefire in Gaza | City of Cambridge
Rectangle | Square :: Practice, Nurseries, Franking | @JonathanTarleton
listens
some audio and/or podcasts i’ve listened to since the last newsletter:
Witch School Chapter 16, Suhaly Bautista-Carolina | How to Survive the End of the World
How NOT to kill your plants with Lois the Plant Lady | Diabetes Digital Podcast by Food Heaven (!)
Practices for Care and Endurance | How to Survive the End of the World (!!)
watches
some videos i watched since the last newsletter:
jams
some things i’ve been (aurally) enjoying since the last newsletter:
puns
jobs
co-hosted by my dear friend, nadav david!
upcoming events
Massachusetts Thriving Communities Virtual Convening | February 12, 2024; 9am to 12pm | Virtual - Register here
(SAVE THE DATE) The Massachusetts Commercial Urban Farming Symposium | March 8, 2024 | UMass Lowell
newsletters
bad environmentalist: are you there god?
emet ezell: bird bath & kari edwards
building belonging: 2023 best of: highlights of my learning journey
solstice newsletter: newsletter: you x culture building x power
gibrán’s newsletter: togetherness and the tragic
right now i’m learning…
how to surf and it’s fucking awesome.
mood
