Grow your own way
How're you? How've things been?
We're a month into the new year, which is exciting, but also a little bit daunting. What've you been up to? Is there anything you're excited about in February?
What I've read
Some excellent articles ended up my way this month, which was exciting!
- Malaka Gharib wrote a couple of excellent pieces about the benefits of art therapy, and how to start a habit of making art. There's even a printable zine!
- How to Draw a Horse. I think you'll love it.
- This Atlantic piece about Berlin's...*checks notes* traffic signals.
- Okay, it's technically a podcast, but the Make Me Smart episode with Frances Moore Lappé was a good primer on the connection between democracy and regenerative agriculture.
I just finished Ancillary Mercy this week. I'm sad to say goodbye to this trilogy; it's hit all the right notes for me and it's been a great start for 2020.
What I've made recently
Food
Like the best-laid plans of mice and men, I haven't tried any recipes from last month 😅. I made a plethora of beans to freeze right after the newsletter, which stretched through the whole month. To complicate matters, I made them a tad (way) too spicy; so I am going to take a little break from capsaicinoids. 🥵
Art
My mom & I made a pouch so I can easily carry art supplies (including rulers!) I'm ecstatic with how it turned out, especially now that I'm practicing at the library:
I'm also making some diagrams to help explain Sunday Papers. They're first drafts, but if you want to see them, let me know!
How's Kira?
We've been going hiking whenever the weather has held up, and loving it. Here are some photos from our last hike (taken by our group's resident photographer, not me). It's been a few weeks, and we're itching to get back out there.
She's fully embraced the ethos of the new year, as you can see.
When you look this glamorous, the pizza comes right to you.
Also, in case you need a new reaction image; this was her face when I put on Multi-Love:
What's on my mind
My birthday was this month, which has always been an odd epilogue to the holiday rush. It's like a blip; a hiccup after a feast. I'm closer to 30 (a made-up number that feels like everything); there are still a lot of opportunities to grow but I feel the most prepared I've ever been to do the work.
We should all have the opportunity to grow. And growth takes various forms: expanding to new things, trimming away, focusing on an old skill, shoring up your core.
I think, for me, growth has to be observed with a sidelong glance. If I see myself on one path in particular (usually expanding to new things), it becomes my central focus. Then, the wagon careens apart at a variable speed.
The problem I've found is that focusing on one path in particular starves every other approach. After that, I reach the end of that path (for now) and think, "That's it." And once I think I'm finalized, something comes around to obliterate that notion. Because I was never truly set, I just ignored it.
These verses capture how the process has felt for me:
Oh, I know we're changing
The roots have split the pavement
And we are coursing through to find
A vein, a fire to light the fire
What about you? What does growth look like for you?
Thanks again for reading! I was excited to put this month's newsletter together, and I hope you enjoyed it!
Let me know what you've been up to! The last 2 weeks have been hectic, so I've felt ragged. But I'm taking this weekend to turtle up and recover; and I've love to catch up. 😊
Cheers,
Thomas