Four questions
Helping Friendly Newsletter, 06.18.21
GM! ☕️
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s email:
Honor and integrate
Creative comedown
Know justice, know peace
In the Heights
Whatta man
1. Honor and integrate
Katie Hawkins-Gaar wants us to do a pandemic review, to help honor and integrate our experiences. Frankly, I did not want to. My heart is leaping towards ALL THE FUN right now. However, I decided to slow down and give it a go, and it was good. Here are KHG’s 3 questions, plus 1 from me:
What habits and routines worked well for me?
What could have been better?
What would I do differently next time?
How can I honor these experiences in the next phase?
2. Creative comedown
Pamela Slim recently addressed “how to recalibrate your business after a big creative effort.” What has the past year+ been for orgs, if not a massive creative effort? Maybe you finished some normal projects too.🙌🏼 Before you move on, Slim recommends asking:
How has my advice to others changed?
What have I learned about my ideal customers, clients, audience, donors, etc…?
What do I really want?
What do I absolutely have to fix?
3. Know justice, know peace
Happy Juneteenth! This weekend last year, Andy and I were on Monument Avenue in Richmond, VA, where a cautious celebration was underway. The sign below really struck me. I love the play on the more common slogan “no justice, no peace.” It captures the urgency and interconnectedness of these ideals in a distinctly hopeful way.
If you feel it too (and I hope you do), these questions from Ann Friedman, modeled on the work of abolitionist Mariame Kaba, are important:
What resources do I have to contribute?
Who is accountable to me, and to whom am I accountable?
What institutions am I invested in, and what am I doing to change them?
Who am I amplifying, week in and week out?
4. In the Heights
Recommend! If you’ve been lucky enough to see this musical on stage, I’m jealous—but it was a thrill and a treat to go to the movies too.🍿
5. Whatta man
I wanna take a minute or two and give much respect to, to the man that’s made a difference in my world.1 AJ, I am so glad we’re on this ride together. You deserve a freakin’ medal this year, but then again you always do. I love you.
Happy Father’s Day also to my dad♥️, and to all the fathers and father figures reading this. Love and peace to anyone who feels the weight of grief, exclusion, or trauma this weekend.🤍
Thank you for reading
This newsletter is a labor of love. 💌 If you would like to show your support, you can forward to a friend, venmo me a coffee, or engage my services. If you’re seeing it for the first time, you can access the archive or subscribe here.
Treasure chest
I bet you find a gem ➔ as Juneteenth becomes a federal holiday, the U.S. needs a culture of reparations | Ta-Nehisi Coates’s case for reparations | make your workplace safe for grief2 | you need a better out-of-office message | why you might feel the urge to overspend right now3 | visualizing migraines | New York wakes up | ✨we are all stardust4✨👇🏼
Happy Juneteenth, Happy Father’s Day, Happy Pride! Much love, all. I’ll see you again soon.
Jenny
For those of you who didn’t memorize this song in the 90s, this is the opening line, by Salt-N-Pepa.
Via Jocelyn Glei.
Via Chrissy Hennessey.
Via Sara Campbell.