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Today's post is a mid-month roundup of mundane magic moments and links I loved. The sections are clearly marked, so feel free to jump ahead.
Last week I shared that I would be changing the cadence of my writing here, and that I didn't know exactly how that would look yet.
I've been feeling caught between wanting to primarily share my own writing (because isn't that why I'm here?) and wanting to give even more space to sharing the beautiful work of other writers here (because there's SO much).
I love sharing my End-of-the-month roundup posts, but I think I've been so overwhelmed trying to compile all of the links at once, and switching to adding links to each weekly post was equally overwhelming in a different way.
So, as part of my experimenting, I've decided to introduce a Mid-month roundup.
Sharing this way feels a bit more spacious, and I'm hopeful that it will allow me ample time to rest in between the different types of posts.
I can't promise this will be the end of the changes, but it feels like a really solid start, and it's what I'm needing right now.
✨️ Mundane Magics ✨️
I had my first appointment with my new primary care provider this week, and she was wonderful - thorough and efficient, but also great at listening and open to input. I'm so impressed and grateful.
We've had a red fox visiting the moss-covered fallen tree in our back yard the last few days. It's so beautiful and feels like a good omen somehow.
I've been making progress on my shawl WIP. I brought it with me to craft club this week and got to talk with one of my friends and a few of our new regulars about things like knitting and chronic illness, and it was lovely. I also finally finished weaving the ends in on my Bistripe Beanie.
Links I Loved
If you, too, have been overwhelmed by your Substack subscriptions then The Ancient Technology of RSS might be for you. Thanks,
! (It took me two tries to have the bandwidth to figure it out, but I'm glad I did it. I've unsubscribed to a handful of publications and redirected them to Feedly so I can dip in and out without the same pressure I felt having them in my inbox.)If you identify with some or all of the following quote, this list of tools compiled by for managing energy levels might be helpful for you:
I am recovering from burnout, I am autistic, and I have ADHD, all of which means I don’t have very much energy to play with. My nervous system is hyper-sensitive to the world around me, so much of my day-to-day life is spent actively managing my stress and energy levels. My main aim? To try to ensure my parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), which preserves energy, as opposed to my sympathetic nervous system (flight, fight, fawn, freeze) is activated as much as possible.
I think I will never not share a post by
in these roundups. Her writing is just so soothing. If you need some comfort and gentleness, click here and here.- shared I See Palestine and It is Brave to Return to Yourself, both of which made me feel less alone and more hopeful:
Every time we take a moment to feel the enormous grief and sorrow that is filling our hearts — it is brave. Every time we forgive ourselves for raising our voices, for being too short in the morning, for rushing and knowing all is needed is to slow down — it is brave.
- is generously hosting Create+Engage: A 2024 Community Series Fusing Art and Activism, a series of free workshops combining creativity and civic engagement. If you're reading this on Tuesday, March 12, there's still time to sign up for the first workshop!
- wrote a beautiful piece on embryos, personhood, and the way forward. As someone who is pro-choice and who has experienced early pregnancy loss, it was exactly what I needed:
I want to live in a world where women feel free to put keepsakes from their IVF transfers – photos, scan images, artwork of their embryos – in frames on their walls, like any other childhood memento. I also want it understood that this is not the same as wanting embryos to have the legal rights of literal children.
In case you need this reminder from as much as I do:
So, there you have it, friends. Next time you’re feeling jolted by some high-octane emotion, don’t just do something. Sit there instead.
- is creating a year-long gentle book club!
And, finally, if you need a reminder to honour your body's needs, Reclaiming my “inconvenient" body by
is a great one:
The gold stars our culture loves to hand out for “she who does the most with the least amount of sleep” are not of any interest to me. I want everyone to be fully rested, nourished, delighted, loved. I want us all to have safe housing, fresh water, clean air, and abundant play. I want our bodies to be sites of pleasure, of healing, of true liberation.
You're always welcome to drop your own links in the comments of these posts if you have any that feel worth sharing, and of course I'd love to hear about your own mundane magics. ✨️ And as always, feel free to share if this resonated with you!
Oh thank you for sharing the workshop/series. And how amazing that you have a local fox ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for the mention, A - so glad to know that piece served as a good reminder, and so glad to be reminded to follow my own advice (lol). Congrats on finding a PCP you feel good about (no small feat)...and I sense poetry in that red fox who frequents your mossy log :)