lqb2weekly #200 (21 sep 2024)

Sep 22, 2024

hey,

well, on this 21st night of september, i’m sick and thinking about polycrisis. i know lots of people are thinking about other political things. but i’m coughing and thinking about polycrisis.

i’m also thinking about the end of summer. a couple weeks ago i went on a walk with donna bivens and i loved that both of us were ending summer without much grief. this is a super rare occurrence for me. summer is my favorite season and though i usually pack a lot in, i also usually feel like i don’t do enough (or i don’t do enough nothing … 😵‍💫). this summer, i feel like i did many things and also did lots of nothing and it was all excellent. summer 2024: won.

but not all summer news is good news. last week, twig daddy told me that it hadn’t rained in something like 3 weeks… and then it didn’t rain for another week. the streak ended this past wednesday, making it boston’s 4th longest stretch without rainfall. not sure how much more rain we’ll get soon but glad it’s broken.

Butterfly man | WEATHER; IS THIS CLIMATE CHANGE? | image tagged in butterfly man | made w/ Imgflip meme maker

also speaking of twig daddy, check out his ongoing 🌱 sale -- for transformation and growth!:

From my own experiences I've also learned how powerful it can be to reconnect with old ways of growing, and how joyful it can be to experiment with new ones. And, that all it takes to get started are just two simple ingredients: 1) a driving curiosity, and 2) a bit of courage to try something new.

So Twig Daddy is about helping people see how much change is possible. 🌱🌱 Literally every piece of these plants, even a small twig, contains the potential to grow and bloom and transform into something truly incredible. And if we're lucky, we get to witness and encourage that transformation and grow ourselves in the process.

in other news, a few months ago i attended the 2nd annual interdependence restival. although it was a bit ago, i didn’t talk about it in the newsletter. and even though i’m not going to talk about it that much now, i do want to shout out my beloved, luana, on bringing this vision of hers into fruition two years in a row! last year i got sick on the 2nd day so had to leave early (it was still beautiful though) but this year it was incredible to fully participate in the whole weekend. also the somatic opening i had has put me onto a growth path that i am deeply grateful for already.

speaking of healing and things, my friend, jen kiok, launched her work to tend sacred portals over the summer and i wanted to shout it out here. she’s a powerful human doing spiritual direction work and i trust her a lot. in her words:

Spiritual Direction is a little like coaching, with a focus on your unfolding spiritual path. In addition to the director and directee, we invite in the presence of the sacred. I hold the space for you to drop in and explore, deepen or perhaps question your spiritual path. I work with people who are seeking support in developing a spiritual path as well as seasoned spiritual leaders seeking support for themselves as they hold others. I offer a sliding scale and hope to make this work accessible to all who seek it. If you feel drawn or have questions, reach out- I’m happy to help you discern if it’s right for you.

on a more consumerist tip, i just got this phone case and i can’t believe i’ve never had one like it before. i love having my wallet and phone case combined. i haven’t lost my wallet since i made the shift to have them combined ten years ago (and i used to lose my wallet like once every 2 years or so — deeply frustrating). but having them combined (like this one, the one i first bought in 2015) makes my phone case way bigger than i need most of the time. like… do i need my whole wallet while i’m walking around my house? but this slick case lets the phone magnetize into and out of the case as desired. SO. GOOD. it’s the little the things for me, ya know?

some events coming up i want to highlight:

my friend jordan is co-leading a series of english & spanish bi-lingual singing circles
there are 2 more intro to liberatory coaching trainings in 2024. i did the 9-month coaching program and it totally transformed my coaching practice as well as how i move through most spaces in my life: lighter, more grounded, more visionary, less reactive. check it out and lmk if you wanna talk about it OR you wanna chat with the community manager, khrysta.
the garrison institute has a new monthly LGBTQIA+ sangha. the next one is tue oct 1. i can’t go to that one but i’m gonna go to the one on nov 5 (because election day).

ok, one more thing before getting on to the things: my friend danielle put out a first (of 4) parts of a wild beautiful project called crush life manifesto. more details on it over here: crushlifemanifesto.com

included in this edition is an essay called where are the the men. i audio recorded some thoughts that had been sitting with me since i read it. (sorry for the poor audio quality - i was outside of jp licks in the rain but i just had to let the thoughts flow). i wanted to share those thoughts with danielle but also with you folks here. i think it’s juicy stuff but i also think people should read crush life manifesto and connect with danielle about it. here are some responses to the essay:

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-10:11

and here’s a response from danielle. which i will respond to at some point soon.

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-5:32

PHEW! JESUS! SO MUCH. OK. on to the things!

(!!) pick of the pack

writing

some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:

Aug 25, 2024 | book review: the new saints — from broken hearts to spiritual warriors

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).

Clarity isn’t about knowing what you want to do with your life, it’s about knowing what you want to do this week.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to know your next step. — James Clear

Your life will not magically exceed your standards. Improve your boundaries and life improves too. — James Clear

20 years from now, the only people who will remember that you worked late are your kids. — David Clarke

If you’re having trouble sticking to a new habit, try a smaller version until it becomes automatic. Do less than you’re capable of, but do it more consistently than you have before. — James Clear

You have to finish things — that’s what you learn from, you learn by finishing things. — Neil Gaiman

One of life’s counterintuitive lessons is that you will often gain energy by spending a little bit of energy.
When you feel lethargic and like you want to lay around all day, it is usually the case that getting up and moving will make you feel better than simply sitting around. Getting outside for 10 minutes or doing the first set of a workout or simply stretching on the floor for a moment — anything to get your body moving — will often leave you feeling more energized.
If you want to get your day going, then get your body going. It’s harder for the mind to be sluggish when the body is moving. — James Clear

You are going to spend 1000x more time in your surrounding 5 blocks than you will in any other neighborhood in your city. Thinking about all the things that New York City has—or the next city has—is a lot less important than thinking about the things within the five blocks where you live.
Most neighborhoods in your city you might never step foot in. They might as well be in the other side of the country. But the things in your immediate vicinity are the things that are going to dominate your life. So picking and influencing your neighborhood is really important… the neighborhood determines quite a bit about our life and our happiness. — Phil Levin

Move toward the next thing, not away from the last thing.
Same direction. Completely different energy. — James Clear

The test of a student is not how much he knows, but how much he wants to know. — Alice Wellington Rollins

What problem have you solved, ever, that was worth solving where you knew all the given information in advance? No problem worth solving is like that. In the real world, you have a surplus of information and you have to filter it, or you don’t have sufficient information and you have to go find some. — Dan Meyer

I’m not the best writer, but it is a strength. I might be a 90th percentile writer.
And I’m not the best marketer, but it is a strength. Again, maybe 90th percentile? I’m better than most, but if you pass 100 people on the street it won’t be hard to find some people better than me.
What I have gradually learned is that it is not your strengths, but your combination of strengths that sets you apart. It is the fact that writing and marketing are mutually reinforcing—and that I enjoy both—that leads to great results.
How can you combine your strength? That’s something I would encourage everyone to think about. You will find talented people in every area of life. It’s the combinations that are rare. — James Clear

When you choose the benefits of an action, you also choose the drawbacks.
If you want to be an author, you can’t only choose the finished novel and book signings. You are also choosing months of lonely typing. If you want to be a bodybuilder, you can’t only choose the fit body and attention. You are also choosing the boring meals and calorie counting.
You have to want the lifestyle, not just the outcomes. Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense being jealous. The results of success are usually public and highly visible, but the process behind success is often private and hidden from view. It’s easy to want the public rewards, but [you] also have to want the hidden costs. — James Clear

In every challenge or even tragedy, there is an opportunity. And if you train yourself to look for the opportunity, you will be able to take control of the situation and even turn it into a positive or if it can’t be turned into something good, at least something good could come out of it. — Menachem Mendel Schneerson

What is in the way of what I want?
Can I come up with at least three different paths around it? — James Clear

In every known human society, everywhere in the world, the young male learns that when he grows up, one of the things which he must do in order to be a full member of society is to provide food [and protection] for some female and her young. …Every known human society rests firmly on the learned nurturing behaviour of men.
…This behaviour, being learned, is fragile and can disappear rather easily under social conditions that no longer teach it effectively. — Margaret Mead