#2: This sparks joy π₯π«
Happy Sunday, precious being of this earth!
Hello sunshine, happy Sunday! Iβm wishing you a glorious day filled with awe, peace, and joy. This Sunday, Iβm feeling a range of emotions but I wanted to return to joy in this newsletter. I very much struggle to stay consistent with things because I come up with all these ideas and I run from one to the next without seeing many through. I bake my loving loaf of something new, excited for the ways it might nourish you and me. I then hastily and fearfully pull it out of the oven. Not good enough, I declare, finally confident in something. Convinced it was destined to become a disappointment or failure, I throw my half-baked loaf into the trash and start again, kneading away at the next thing. I love the feeling of beginnings and possibilities, and not so much that of follow through and βdisciplineβ. This makes it hard to stick to one thing!
I do, however, also love the idea of Sunday newsletters, the consistency and reliability of a stubborn note in your inbox every Sunday. So, Iβm trying to be consistent with this one. The theme may not always be joy, as Iβm also interested in exploring others β like love, freedom, pleasure, community, wisdom. But today we are choosing joy, with a touch of other things. I hope you enjoy it!
1. This poem
2. This cartoon
This literally read me! I have so many drafts that are definitely good enough to send (anything is!) but I just get so insecure and fearful of criticism. Itβs sad that weβve created such a critical environment on- and offline. Thatβs what motivated the tweet I shared at the top of last weekβs joy list.
Also, Iβm going to do a longer post about AI (my thoughts on it do not spark joy) but I absolutely love this podcast episode and how clearly and passionately the guest, AI expert Timnit Gebru lays out her concerns:
3. This quote
Re: insecurity and art, my dear friend
recently shared a beautiful roundup of 10 things that inspired him this week, and he has this delicious quote on forgiveness that has really been helping me with my own toxic perfectionism:4. This playlist
listened to this while making this list!
β¦ and this one
5. This article
On the importance of awe: βAwe has two fundamental components, say researchers who study the emotion. It is a response to encountering something more vast, complex, or mind-blowing than we had conceived of either physically or conceptually. The experience also induces a change in how we see the world, producing βlittle earthquakes in the mind.β
This article on awe (paywall): βAwe is all around us. We just need to know where to look for it. In our daily-diary studies, one source of awe was by far the most common: other people. Regular acts of courageβbystanders defusing fights, subordinates standing up to abusive power holdersβinspired awe. So did the simple kindness of others: seeing someone give money to a broke friend or assist a stranger on the street.β
In the interest of giving money to broke friends, if you have the means, letβs help Alia get lifesaving surgery as she battles chronic illness caused by uterine fibroids resulting in excessive uterine bleeding and pain. We can also help Taylor avoid eviction after being blindsided when her work contract was terminated in September without any notice, verbal warning or insinuation of termination.
Note: I found these asks on social media. If YOU are in need of mutual aid, please please use the comment section or my Substack chat to ask for help!! Or if youβd prefer to, email me privately to promote your ask! We need each other!!!
6. This video
Shoutout to sunshine
(Ruth Nya) for the podcast recommendation, Boboβs Void, on Spotify here and Apple here. I've been loving it!!!7. This book
8. This organization
βHow can we help people who suffer from despair and depression and cannot seek professional help because they donβt have enough money? Dixon Chibanda, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist in Zimbabwe, developed a psychological support method carried out by local community members. He trains grandmothers to treat depression. And this idea is working!β Read more here
Dixon Chibanda is an associate professor at the University of Zimbabwe and the director of the African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI). He created the Friendship Bench program in Zimbabwe, which is a cognitive therapy-based approach to depression. The program trains community grandmothers in evidence-based talk therapy and attentive listening as an accessible alternative to mental illness care. β NPR
9. This art
Nelson Makamo is a South African, Johannesburg-based artist best known for his charcoal and oil paintings that redress decades of images that have portrayed African children in destitute. Makamo has managed to solidify an iconic signature and a subject matter that has steadily placed him on a global stage, making him one of the worldβs young and most sought-after visual artists of our times. Nelson Makamoβs artworks speak to changing the global mindset of what it means to be an African child. His portraits convey strong emotions, from conviction to dispair to joy. β learn more about Makamoβs work here
This was the perfect way to start my Sunday!!! Thank you so much for your amazing newsletter. The love, thought, and care you put into each issue is so evident and your content just truly fills my spiritual cup all the way up ππ Thank you for these amazing artists, poems, books, resources, and organizations that you connected us with here. You are amazing. We love you!! πππΌ and thank you so much for mentioning Letβs Thrive Together. Love you so much!! ππ
Omg thanks for the shoutout! And Iβm so happy youβve joined the void π