All in good time
Helping Friendly Newsletter, 05.02.25
Every other Friday, I share 5 things to consider. On the Fridays between, I mix things up. This is a Friday between.
GM! ☕️
Just 1 thing today…
Today’s newsletter is a scrapbook—odds and ends, bits and bobs, quotes, notes, and things that I wrote. It’s dedicated to slow movers and late bloomers. To folks with unfinished work. To people who wait nicely, and to the impatient ones (🙋🏼♀️) with their crossed arms and tapping toes. To each of you who has been heartbroken by another detour, delay, or disappointment. To everyone wandering in some kind of wilderness. I see you, I am you. Let’s keep going.
Mood
Time Is a Temple?
Time Is a River?
Time Is a Dance?
“Recall a joy so fleeting it was bittersweet, or an agonizingly slow wait, or an emotion so fierce that time actually seemed to stop in its grip. Such encounters teach us that time is significantly more complex (diverse, textured, and beautiful) than our calendars make it seem. It can speed up and slow down, and sometimes it dissolves entirely.
When we attend to this complexity, we begin to see that our stories, and our collective story, unfold as a dance, not a march. Though we can’t always choose the song, we can decide how to engage with it. It is within our power to waltz with grace, tango with passion, rage against the machine, or quietly share in the groove. Either way, in the spirit of George Clinton, ‘Welcome to station W-E-F-U-N-K.’”
— me, “Unfolding”
Better Procrastination
Don’t Worry
Mary Oliver
Things take the time they take. Don’t worry.
How many roads did Saint Augustine follow
before he became Saint Augustine?
Blessing for Those Who Have Far to Travel Jan Richardson (excerpt) There is nothing for it but to go, and by our going take the vows the pilgrim takes: to be faithful to the next step; to rely on more than the map; to heed the signposts of intuition and dream; to follow the star that only you will recognize; to keep an open eye for the wonders that attend the path; to press on beyond distractions, beyond fatigue, beyond what would tempt you from the way.
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Slow living treasure chest: slow food | slow art | slow fashion | slow tech | slow home | slow teaching | slow journalism | slow parenting | slow democracy | slow medicine | slow work
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Things That Will Not Be Hurried
Jenny Phillips
Trees. Tortoises. Toddlers
Sloths. Starfish. Seahorses. Slugs
Anemones. Inchworms.
The American woodcock, slowest bird.
Snails, of course.
The blue whale's heart rate, mid-dive, is just four beats per minute.
The perfect barbecue.
Boiling water.
Fine wine.
Traffic jams. Creativity.
The last school bell before summer vacation.
Drunk people. Deep thinkers.
Hiring committees.
A Wes Anderson film.
Ernie Lombardi, slowest man in baseball.
Decomposing plastics can take hundreds of years.
Destiny, trust, healing, and grief are timeless.
High tide. Low tide.
All the phases of the moon.
A late period. Pregnancy.
First smile, first steps.
First kiss, last breath.
Again and again, patience.ICYMI, last week I shared 5 Things to Consider:
The art of being lost
5 things to consider: not knowing, rivers, worrying, abundance, and workshops.
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.
Peace,
Jenny
P.P.S. reminder 🌼 👇
