The Fold: Sea of ChangesIn This Issue:
All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth Is Change. God Is Change. — Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower Hiya.It’s been a while since I’ve written The Fold and sent it to you. I figured out why. Aside from the typical holiday foofaraw. I’ve put off sending a newsletter until I can Get My Head Around It All. I want to fully digest what’s happening in the world so I can respond intelligently. I caught myself in this web of “perfect” and “ideal” and had to remind myself that literally no one is perfect, never has been, never will be. So here I am in your inbox, stumbling, unkempt, crumbs on my shirt, wondering what day of the week it is. (Oh, right, it’s January 87th.) Y’all. A lot of stuff is going on around us. Some of it terrifying, some of it exciting. Right now I’m trying to remain curious. Something I learned from Dr. Amishi Jha’s book Peak Mind is that human brains are not built to comprehend everything all at once. In order for us to survive, we have to quickly dismiss a lot of input that doesn’t serve that purpose. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed right now? That’s you being human. That being said, if you need support for your mental health (I definitely do), here is a list of resources that don’t involve the police. Until I Get My Head Around It All, I have some interesting stuff to share with you. I’m Changing How I Use Social Media
I’m phasing out Facebook and Instagram. You already know why. I may look at them from time to time, but I don’t think I’ll post to them any more. I’m trying out Mastodon, Bluesky, Cara, and Pixelfed. It’ll take me a while to figure out the bells and whistles of these respective platforms, how they interact with one another, and which of them fills my well rather than draining it. So far, I’m enjoying this process. It reminds me of the wild west web days when it felt like so many things were possible and everyone was just trying stuff to see if it worked. Come say hi if that’s your thing. You can always find me and my work at SarahAtlee.com. Some Things Stay In PlaceLike I said at the top, no one can digest everything all at once. But Mike Monteiro is doing a really good job explaining the current state of things without spiraling into hysteria or cynicism. I highly recommend his newsletter, Mike Monteiro’s Good News. In his recent letter, How to Survive Being Online, he says, “The only way to defeat a narcissistic sociopath is to starve them. Protect yourself from their bullshit, of course, but move away from it. Let them have their stage, but refuse to be their audience. This isn’t easy. It’s especially difficult because capitalism is an attention economy. The New York Times and The Washington Post love a narcissistic sociopath because they generate clicks and clicks sell ads. Social media loves a narcissistic sociopath for the same reason, but it’s even worse. On social media, we’re the ones carrying their water. Trump says something that he knows will get him attention (i.e. renaming the Gulf of Mexico) and not only does it fire up hundreds of media outlets, who now divert attention to this idiocy, but it also fires up tons of people like me and you, who end up reposting his garbage. … Am I telling you to bury your head in the sand? Far from it. I am telling you to moderate your exposure to the bullshit. … And if you want to remain on social media, as I will be, do your best to separate the signal from the noise. Follow people who are engaged in your community, follow people who are engaged in helping others, follow people who are posting pictures of their new puppy because puppies are awesome, follow artists making cool weird shit, follow people who are creating new stages. Stages where you are welcome. Stages built on love and kindness and inclusion. Stages where the audience can take a turn getting up there as well and tell their story. And yes, follow some trusted news sources, and double check their shit with a second news source.” Good advice. And if you still want to go online and learn and discover and get ideas, great! One place to start is Fix The News’ roundup of good stuff that happened in 2024. Stuff like eliminating disease, nature conservation, clean energy, and quality of life rising around the globe. News isn’t all bad! Lately I’m…
Watching: The Watchmen 2019 reboot series on Max. Regina King is amazingly good, and the story feels timely.
Listening: Endlessness and Space 1.8 by Nala Sinephro. Bonus points for record cover designs that are just *chef’s kiss*.
Reading: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (audiobook narrated by Michael York). This audio edition brings a wonderful energy to a story I hadn’t read in many years.
Tasting: Ginger & turmeric soup, made using this homemade soup base. I make a batch of the base and freeze it using Souper Cubes. When I want to make the soup, I pop a cube out of the freezer, sautee it a bit, then add whatever liquid I have to soupify it. A GIF For Those Who Read This FarYou’ve been SO PATIENT. Here are some butterflies drinking turtle tears.
Protect your peace,xoxo Sarah |
