GM ☕️
Love to folks reading this with the weight of 9/11 on your heart. It feels very recent to me, even as the years tick by.
To everyone struggling with political assassinations1 and ever more violence nationally and worldwide, I’m right beside you. Facing these realities with an open heart is hard, but important. In the wisdom of peace activists at Satyam, “Let us refuse to be numb.”2
One thing grounding me right now (always) is nature’s abiding rhythms. Last Sunday was the full corn moon, and autumn equinox will arrive soon. This time of year, the invitation is to take stock:
What is ready for harvest?
What is it time to release, which no longer serves?
What can I offer out, from abundance?
I hope we can hold these questions with compassion, lest they prompt more harshness than generosity. That caution feels extra important this year, as we experience a collective unraveling. It’s normal to feel inadequate to the moment, and it’s tempting to fixate on what we lack. But our worth is not determined by the size of our larders, literal or figurative. Go gently.
Autumn is also a time of balance. (My Libra heart sings!) Day and night will hold each other in perfect tension on September 22. There is room now for both shadow and light, so perhaps we will also make our peace with paradox. We can enthusiastically celebrate the harvest, even as we acknowledge all we did not nurture, and which did not grow.
In the northern hemisphere, the scale will shift towards darkness. This can be difficult to accept, but so it goes. Everything is a movement. As with ideals like compassion and peace, seasons are active, living processes. Constant becomings, not fixed conditions. Changing, stirring, always turning.
Likewise, each of us is in motion. I will see you on the path, friends, and we’ll find our way together.
🖤
Jenny
P.S. I’ll be out and about the next two weeks in jambandland, at Widespread Panic tomorrow (Richmond) and Phish the following weekend (Hampton, for equinox). This is how I refuel for the journey, and I’m so grateful I can. If you are also going, I’d love to dance in your orbit for a song or two. LMK!
Here are this fortnight’s 5 things to consider:
1.
I was taken by
‘s reflection on the ineffable and ever-changing color of water. If you feel inconsistent lately, or misunderstood, you’re in good company: with oceans and rivers, waterfalls and tidal flats. Glaciers and streams, bayous and seas. We humans are about 60% water ourselves, so perhaps the main thing is to keep flowing.2.
An encouraging and actionable guide to “advocacy for scaredy cats”:
“All we have is ourselves and each other, all we have is now. We’ll never feel all the way ready, but we can do it scared because we’re doing it together.”
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Related: For clarity and fortitude, I appreciated Tara Brach’s “Presence and Compassion in a Violent World,” a dharma talk she gave last month at Satyam.
3.
: “If you’re reading this, it means you’re still kicking: You’ve got time to get organized. Planning for your death might feel weird, but it is one of the most loving and selfless things you can do for the people you will leave behind.”Related: Get your shit together.
4.
shared her process for aligning creative work with the lunar cycle, and I’m eager to give it a try. Her guidance begins with the new moon, which comes around next on September 21. “Creativity isn’t linear. It moves in cycles and waves.” 5.
Excellent advice:
✨ How to Listen by James Pearson I'm not asking you to come down here and clean out the muddy corners of my life I'm asking you to be a forest where mud and leaves, shadow and light, growth and decay all have their unquestioned belonging. ✨ (in Pearson's The Wilderness That Bears Your Name)
Last weekend was Commerce Street Books’ official grand opening. I worked the book swap, which was a fun event and an interesting window into what Charlottesville reads. I like our collective taste! Most of all, it has been encouraging to see neighbors showing up to support a new small business and our local reading scene. If that’s you, or if you’re doing something similar in your community, I’m grateful.
It’s last call for fall book clubs. The first meeting of my creativity group will be September 30, for Suleika Jaouad’s The Book of Alchemy. This book about journaling (a root creative practice for Jaouad) is a cornucopia of essays and prompts from wide-ranging creatives, including one hilarious anecdote about the horror of sweating on Beyonce.
Finally, here are 2 tiny fiction reviews:
Audition. Literary fiction from this year’s Booker longlist. Kitamura writes about relationships with raw and relatable honesty, and I enjoyed the glimpse inside a professional stage actor’s mind. However, I didn’t love the experimental form of this confusing-on-purpose short novel. My predominant feeling after turning the final page was “WTF?” That being said, Audition makes an interesting choice for book clubs; there is much to discuss. The balance of relatable themes and open questions provides good fodder for opinionated bookworms. And that final scene! 🙀 I for one needed a support group after finishing it. (3 stars)
P.S. Shoutout to
for leading the way in her most recent Booker of the Month book club. I was glad to work through this one in community.Legends and Lattes. Delightful cozy fantasy. I enjoy this sub-genre, which is a lighter lift and much less violent than classic fantasy. Baldree’s characters are unique and mostly good to one another, his world-building is accessible, and there is just enough tension for the plot to hold interest. I didn’t run right out for the next book in the series, but I do expect to keep going at a slower pace. Legends and Lattes reads like a warm mug of your favorite beverage with a good friend. (4 stars)
ICYMI, two weeks ago I shared these 5 things to consider: second lines, solidarity, better boards, mischief, and the little toil of love.
Thank you for reading! This newsletter is a labor of love. 💌 To support it, you can upgrade to a paid subscription, share this post, or engage my services. You can learn more about my work at jenniferlphillips.com.
I bet you find a gem 💎→
“nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people” | honest-to-god good progressive policy news | how forests have shaped humanity | what about the students who don’t use AI to cheat? | are kids’ activities stopping parents from finding community? | how one person can change the conscience of an organization | this is your sign to rest | the reality of being a flight attendant | beloved books and their 1-star reviews | scenes from a book club (comic) | a guide to your dreamiest fall yet | despite it all👇🏼
Have a great weekend!
I’ll see you in your inbox again soon.
Peace,
I originally named Charlie Kirk here and have since updated the text to the more inclusive “political assassinations.” I made this edit not because Kirk’s death is any less noteworthy or concerning, but because he is the not the only victim of recent political assassination here in the U.S. Thanks to my friends NM and HF, who helped me see this more clearly.
Satyam means “truth” or “that which is for the benefit of that which is true” in Sanskrit, and here it references a community of Israeli, Palestinian, and international peace activists, who act in embodied solidarity with Gaza. Among other projects to strengthen connection, justice, and safety, they have been on hunger strike since June 16.
So beautiful!! Thank you for including me in this lovely round up 💙