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👋🏽 Hello everyone! ☀️ I'm sending today's newsletter to you from a new tool called Rumicat. It's a super simple newsletter platform that "honors the gentle art of personal publishing." No ads or paid subscriptions or (so far) support of hate and intolerance and fear. So let's see how it goes!  |
We were in Montana last week for board meetings, and we got to go whitewater rafting for the first time ever! At one point I was tossed overboard, and it was the loudest, most chaotic experience. It was probably only a minute or two that I was jostling along the river on my own, but it felt so confusing—I didn't know which way was up, what I was supposed to do (although the guide totally tutored us beforehand and was yelling "Swim to the raft!"), or why the raft was getting farther away no matter how hard I swam. By the time I made it to the raft and my boss hauled me back on the boat, I just sat there and felt bewildered and soaked. It was fantastic! 🤩 It was such a new experience, to be out of control, to not be able to form words, to distill everything down to one thought: Get. To. The raft. The experience brought to mind words I rarely use to describe my day: exhilarated, chaotic, bewildered, disoriented. And while I don't care to use those words frequently to characterize my life, it was really great to have them pop up in this adventure. Anyway, what have you been up to? I've been...
🤓 Learning |
Have you ever heard of Human Design? I have no idea where I heard of this (maybe a newsletter?), but it's a mix of astrology, I Ching, Kabbalah, Vedic philosophy, etc. It's definitely new age and woo-woo, but I love any type of personality test, tarot reading, or other tool that basically gets me to react to something and think about my own personality and choices. (INFJ-T! Enneagram 2w3! Culture Index: Coordinator! CliftonStrengths: Empathy!) I feel like these things poke at you, make you rethink your actions and decisions, and give you new opportunities to see yourself in a completely different light. According to Human Design, I am a "Generator" who learns by experimenting and responding to what excites me, and my life purpose is to create healthy tension that helps people grow into their best selves. I mean, not a bad thing to be told you are here to lift the energy of those around you and make life beautiful. Also learning: HTML and Markdown, as I'm trying my hand at building a digital garden for myself. I started with a Neocities site which is all HTML, and now I'm testing out an omg.lol site, which is all Markdown. So far I like the simplicity of Markdown - when I have unlimited resources (you can do ANYTHING with HTML), I get overwhelmed. The limitations are freeing, in a way.
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📚 Reading |
Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus - This audiobook popped up in the Libby app, and I'm so glad I listened to it! It was a fascinating look at what (may have) actually happened in Jesus' time, and how the writers of the gospel (may have) molded his story in ways that would ensure his message reached further. "...since religious convictions arouse strong emotion, people seeking power have used versions of Christianity ever since to promote their social and political agendas.” Martyr! - So beautiful and enchanting to read. I didn’t cry, but my heart felt full. I find that I always love the writing of Persian/Iranian poets. "Zee talked about how luxurious it felt to do nothing in New York City, a place where you could do anything. He kept saying “opportunity cost,” that the opportunity cost of doing nothing in the city was so immense that it felt opulent." Meditations for Mortals - I loved, loved, loved this book. It's one that I think I'll read every so often for inspiration. "It’s a particular peril among the progressive-minded, I’ve noticed, to take the fact that a given choice might be unfeasible for the underprivileged as a reason not to make it yourself. But unless it’s you who’s underprivileged, that’s an alibi, not an argument." Calling a Wolf a Wolf - I loved Martyr! so much that I immediately searched for Kaveh Akbar's poetry collections. This one is fantastic. "my father believed in gardens / delighting at burying each thing in its potential for growth" Strange Pictures - This is one of those books I finished because I thought it would all come together; and it did, just not in way that was satisfying to me. The depth and thrill may have gotten lost in translation from Japanese? "When faced with true sorrow, people lose even the strength to shed tears." Three Bags Full - I adored this silly book so much I made Justin read it right away so we could talk about it. If you're a fan of Chicken Run, you might like this sheep detective story. "It was seldom that humans took the trouble to be quiet. It always meant something."
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😂 Laughing
That’s it! Thank you for reading—hit reply and tell me what you’re up to. 💞 Crystal 👉🏽 Find me in all the places here. |
