Endings, beginnings
Endings, beginnings
Helping Friendly Newsletter 12.10.21
GM! ☕️
Here are this week’s 5 things to consider:
1. Endings, beginnings
Poet, artist and Methodist minister Jan Richardson began her 2021 Advent retreat with a study on endings. She emphasized the continuity between endings and beginnings, though she did not offer easy comfort. Instead, she invited reflection:
You may find these questions uncomfortable (I did). If so, Richardson’s “Blessing When the World Is Ending” is a balm.
This blessing will not fix you, will not mend you, will not give you false comfort; it will not talk to you about one door opening when another one closes. It will simply sit itself beside you among the shards and gently turn your face toward the direction from which the light will come, gathering itself about you as the world begins again.
—Jan Richardson
2. Demons hate fresh air
This week, one of my favorite newsletter writers interviewed one of my favorite newsletter writers. The conversation is full of accessible creative advice, like this pearl from Ingmar Bergman: “Demons hate fresh air.”
3. Creative types
I’m a firm believer that everyone is creative (yes, including you). So, I enjoyed this creative type quiz. My advice: don’t get attached to “your” results. If they resonate, that’s great, but they aren’t scientific. Instead, explore the range of creative types. Where are your (or your team’s) preferences and strengths? Where would you like to develop, explore, or play? Hit reply and let me know!
4. Attention, please
Your attention is a valuable resource. Consider, for example, “how Tik Tok reads your mind.” Or, explore art and media that purposefully manipulate viewers’ attention.1 For antidotes to looted, lost, or lackluster attention, I recommend Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing and Rob Walker’s Art of Noticing. The better we understand this, the better we can attend to what matters most.
5. Big internet energy
To visualize online attention and its frenetic energy, check out the Twitter emoji tracker2, Listen to Wikipedia, or watch this animated map of American search. (If you need to reset after these experiences, Do Nothing for Two Minutes.) Wowza.
Thank you for reading
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If you’re new here, welcome. Every Friday, I share 5 things to consider and the treasure chest below. If you like my content, please subscribe (it’s free).
Treasure chest
I bet you find a gem ➔ a photo journey through the places that “don’t matter”3 | joy is the justice we give ourselves | how to disrupt a tyrannical system | the American workplace isn’t prepared for this much grief | on not living up to your potential | use your best judgment | are you secretly a millennial? | how to permanently delete your facebook account | the influencers who stole Christmas4 | call to action👇🏼
Have a great weekend! I’ll see you again soon.
Jenny
Via Rob Walker.
Via Ann Friedman.
Via Ann Friedman.