5 Quick Things #188 ♻️

community, sovereignty, sustainability, & coterie

Apr 23, 2021

Hey there,

How has your week been? For me, I declared this week a ‘week of recovery’ post-book manuscript submission, and the way I felt this week confirmed to me: it must be close to summer. I’m pretty sure I need more than a week to fully recover from my spring of intense writing, and most of my high school students have that thing in their eyes (you know that thing, because you were that age, too) that screams, “Please no more assignments, Mrs. O, I just want to sleep in, hang with my friends, and/or stare at a wall.”

We still have a long month to go, but it’s getting closer. Getting those almost-summer vibes in your neck of the woods, too?

Aerial shot of abandoned public bicycles in Shenyang province, China. #

5 Quick Things ☕️

1. After some tragic news about a friend of Seth’s, he and I unpack what it means to live in our current reality of isolation. So many people are lonely, hurting, or have lost their way, and the best and truest solution is community. Community is the conduit for hope. There is sacramental beauty in reaching out to others.
2. Excellent, much-needed wisdom from a Black father and professor on how he’s broaching this week’s verdict with his kids. “There is a third way, rooted in the idea that a just God governs the universe, and for that reason, none of our efforts are in vain.”
3. In honor of Earth Day yesterday, I’m a fan of these super-simple free zero waste ideas. (I already do most of them, but I’m curious how to make the second idea work… 🤔)
4. Speaking of — a few weeks ago I started a commitment to walk anywhere one mile or closer, and it’s been genuinely enjoyable (we moved here very specifically for its walkability). Ideas like this have got me thinking of getting a cargo bike, too.
5. And finally, why do I wish this were a real movie?

Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📚

Rest, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang (so far it’s blowing my mind 🤯)

Quotable 💬

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

― Lao Tzu #

From the Community 🏠

In honor of turning in my manuscript last week and declaring this week one of rest, I asked you guys to name one form of self-care you’ll practice this week (with this definition of self-care: whatever it is that makes you most feel like yourself). Great answers, as usual!