GM! ☕️
Here are this fortnight’s 5 things to consider:
Ramadan Mubarak to all who observe. I was moved by and wanted to share
‘s poem, “To be a Gazan during Ramadan.”
When I feel overwhelmed by humanity’s ills, I try to remember that loving the world can be as simple as holding the door for the next person. Kind gestures don’t replace necessary work on systems and culture; we must understand this. And. Humble acts of caring, shared freely and without exclusion, are threads in the fabric of revolutionary love.
We can to a certain extent change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world…We repeat, there is nothing that we can do but love, and dear God—please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend. —Dorothy Day, “Love Is the Measure” (Catholic Worker, 1946)
As someone whose best work involves curating good ideas, I feel resonance with Charlottesville food critic Simon Davidson’s defense of praise. “My focus on the positive is deliberate, and the product of much consideration.”
“What do leaders who are skilled at navigating complexity know how to do? What do they do differently? What would you observe if a leader had these skills?” How capable leaders navigate uncertainty and ambiguity.
The northern hemisphere is alive again, and sandhill cranes are converging on the Platte River in Nebraska. Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary webcam is a gorgeous way to start the day. Highly recommend. It’s also an excellent writing soundtrack that inspired me to make this little poem:
Bonus book love:
Percival Everett’s James hit bookstores this week to much fanfare, including Pulitzer whispers. The novel is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Huck’s enslaved companion Jim. The consensus among folks I follow is that pre-reading or re-reading Twain‘s classic is not mandatory. But, for grounding,
’s 6 things to know about Huck Finn is helpful. If you read James, let me know what you think! I’m starting it now.Thank you for reading! This newsletter is a labor of love. 💌 To support it, you can upgrade to a paid subscription (coming soon), share this post, or engage my services. You can learn more about my work at jenniferlphillips.com.
Jenny
P.S. get in, babe👇
Lovely list - and I love that Dorothy day quote 🩷
What a list of truly wonderful resources - I'm honoured to be included among them. I'm often weary of things that focus exclusively on positivity because I fear the tendency to ignore the world's systems issues, as you mentioned, but this is just so inclusive and aware of the systems while still trying to be soft. And that's a really great way to be...