Hello sunshine,
Happy Sunday! I’m wishing you the kind of day your body and soul crave most. For me, that’s a soft, slow, soulful day reminisent of (and featuring?!) warm dough oozing with jam or cream, and hot chocolate. In the meantime, I wanted to share a list of some things that are sparking joy for me. I’d love to hear some of your recs and favs in the comments!
1. This tweet
2. This poem
3. This song
4. This essay
On the real magic of rituals: “Because our brain never stops making predictions, we tend to look for patterns and statistical regularities everywhere around us. But our predictive brain does not like unpredictability. This is where ritual comes in. The repetitive action patterns found in ritual function as cognitive gadgets that help us cope with stress.”
5. This meditation
6. This book
7. This quote
“The only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you are alive, and die only when you are dead. To love, to be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of the life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.” ― Arundhati Roy
8. This artwork
9. This TikTok
@aizabbygotta #decolonize our minds and state the facts 🔥👏🏾#peopleoftheglobalmajority #wordsmatter #aizabby #spiritualawakening
10. This riddle
“I came to prominence in the world during a time of trouble. I brought people together but helped keep them apart. I sound like I should go fast, but I am well known for taking too long to finish. What am I?” (See answer here)
I really enjoyed that article from the anthropologist. I know over time, rituals and other eastern medicinal practices were erased as inferior, but this article proves that it can be just as effective. It makes you think about what else was deemed inferior..
I wonder where the line is from it being a ritual to a symptom of another mental illness though. Thinking specifically about OCD and how rituals are viewed as obsessive behaviors that may calm anxiety in the moment, but are destructive overall to a person's well being long-term or harmful to those around them. I'm currently in grad school so I'm just pondering, I don't know if there is an answer to that lol.
This was the perfect way for me to set myself up for the week. I am practicing self-love, reflection, I'm learning and challenging myself, and most importantly I'm learning to listen to myself and not immediately write myself off as not being enough. Thank you!!
I always love getting your newsletter!! I was wondering if it would be possible to have your email because I'm doing a university project and would love to interview you💕💕