Loving the world: summer edition.
what I'm reading, watching, doing & listening to
Hey friends,
It’s been the weirdest summer. You too? Here's my brief update: without warning or my permission, I’ve undergone some massive shifts lately. They’ve taken so much focus and dedication to care for myself, my creativity, and my people through, there’s been no space to write you here. And frankly, I don’t even know where to start. What’s wild about this disruption is that my life looks pretty much the same on the outside, so where to begin with such unpacking that is both so deliberately interior and in progress?
Those are stories for another time because they're not the point of this one.
Today’s post is about joy. It’s about what’s bringing me hope and inspiration when life has been so uncertain and disorienting. Is it the eclipse or election or genocide or autumn or revolution? I don’t know, but we’re living through it anyhow.
In any case, today’s letter is a roundup of what I’ve been reading, watching, doing, and listening to lately. This is how I’m loving the world.
I saw my favorite musician, Ben Howard, live in July. I’ve seen him four times now, and it’s always a remarkable experience. Not only is his music the truest soundtrack of so much of my life, his musical evolution reminds me you don’t have to be who you once were. This show in particular moved me because Ben played old songs from his first record, Every Kingdom, including my favorite “Old Pine”. In the other times I’d seen him live, he’s never played it. But the highlight may have been continuing a tradition with Maddison, which is dragging her to see my favorite bands – this time at the very last minute, while she was 40 weeks pregnant with another sick kid at home – and every time she celebrates me loving the world in the particular ways I love it.
Speaking of celebration, it was a summer of special collectives. I celebrated birthdays and babies and changing seasons and celebrations of life and family reunions and letting go. There was falafel and macaroni and cheese and cinnamon rolls and cake and hotdogs, and there was NA margaritas and Budweisers and vinho verde and chocolate milk. There were blessings and tears and rituals and dancing and savorings and remembering and recommitments. You don’t have to stop celebrating when life gets disorienting. In fact, communing usually helps bring what matters most back into focus.
I’m still on a cookbook kick. Latest faves are the newly released Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food, and the surprise invitation I have to lead creative on another cookbook in the near future. Stay tuned. 🇰🇪
I bought new pants because my old ones no longer fit. This is not a metaphor. Loving our bodies is loving the world. Here are the pants I got - I love them. They’re off-white and cool, which is not how I’d describe any other pants I own. Size 12, for reference!
Thrift shopping for vintage clothes has become a pastime. This world needs a lot of big miracles, and sometimes small ones like a snap-up denim turtleneck or a black sheer SSBD with daisies that is so you it’s shocking it didn’t come from your own closet. Faves in Denver are Goldmine Vintage, Boss Vintage, La Lovely Vintage – all on South Broadway.
My friend shared recently how she got published TWICE in the New York Times! I took notes and submitted a piece of my own a few weeks ago. I’ve not heard anything yet, but if I’ve learned anything from Mesa’s posts about her path to publishing in the NYT, it’s to keep writing and trying. She’s currently hosting a lovely challenge for writers to publish 100-word micro essays daily-ish for 30 days. Here are a few I’ve been following:
Listening lately to Bastille’s new album, & (pronounced “Ampersand”.) On Friday on my way to therapy in an Uber (yes, it’s as dumb as it sounds), the driver turned on the radio and “Blue Sky & The Painter” was on. Have you ever cried in an Uber on the way to therapy over a song about the hope of emerging from darkness?
I’ve also been jamming soundtracks to video games and musicals when I work. It makes me feel free and like creativity is not this serious, complicated thing I’ve made into my career. This music is my brain hack, a ventral vagal anchor (thanks, Kari, for this language), and a way to change an experience in my mind and for my body than its present reality, which is chained to my laptop and profitable projects. On repeat lately are The Sims Instrumental (mood: creative, youthful, light), Hamilton (mood: motivated, complex, 2:22hr deep work sprint), Life Is Strange (mood: indie-emo, artsy, chill.)
I Am: Celine Dion. This documentary took my breath away. It’s equal parts awe inspiring and gut wrenching. I SOBBED through several scenes. It’s so raw and intimate – you will have to recover from this documentary. I couldn’t believe the vulnerability of the storytelling, so I looked into the director. Irene Taylor, you’ve done it again. (She also directed a documentary about her family, Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements, which I saw premier at Telluride MountainFilm Festival a few years ago. Similarly embodied and visceral. Go watch it.)
Sharing again because it’s a continuous need: a super easy way to support Palestinians in Gaza through this horrific genocide is to buy an eSim at Nomad (Middle East region), use the code SHEL64QG for a discount. Then email a screenshot of the QR code in your confirmation email to gazaesims@gmail.com. This proven project is distributing the cell data we purchase to people who have suffered nearly a year of bombing and inadequate basic needs of food, water, housing, healthcare, and electricity. Help Palestinians in Gaza stay connected to each other and the world.
An organization I’m supporting that has a long history of supporting Palestinians in Gaza is Donkeysaddle Projects. I’ve witnessed important ways they’ve been leveraging their resources and network to help with immediate needs, specifically with distributing aid and getting funds to Palestinians in Gaza and Cairo for basic necessities, and evacuations to safety when the Rafah border was open. At its core, DSP is an organization of storytellers who use film, art, advocacy, and education to engage liberation movements and inspire justice. They’re currently just a few hundred dollars away from their fundraising goal in their “Trekking for Gaza” campaign, where the team raised support and awareness while the founder, Jen, hiked 350 miles of the Continental Divide Trail. She's off the trail now, but let's help them meet their $20,000 goal. (Update since publishing: DSP surpassed their $20k campaign goal! You can still learn about their work and support here.)
At the end of summer, Lane and I go up to Mount Blue Sky and watch the sunset. It's a beautiful way to honor the imminent equinox because you must take a coat and scarf, which are still unthinkable pieces of outwear down in the city in early September. This sunset felt like a portal, a true halfway point. We drove up on the last day the road was open for the next 1.5 years, meaning next year, we'll have to mark the end of the season on new summit.
My long awaited sabbatical is nearly here. I have so much anticipation to travel a bit, work on my book, and be with my people in different parts of Spain throughout October. It is not only a break, it will be a pilgrimage. Wandering is the deepest way I know how to practice loving the world.
What are you loving or finding joy in lately?
Here’s to loving the world,
What a rich post! Thanks for sharing the many recommendations, and I would love to hear how the sabbatical and working on the book goes. xo
I love reading about what you’ve been listening to lately! You’ve been expanding my musical horizons since way back—seriously, since before 2008. :)
The Hamilton soundtrack is a go-to for me as well when I need to buckle down and be productive. The revolutionary themes definitely hit home, especially these days.