That day, I realized I don’t want my friend—or anyone—to apologize for being away from their phone again. I don’t want someone to feel bad if the social load is overwhelming, or if I am currently one long-distance relationship too many. I have other friends who can love me in the interim.
While adapting to living here might sound pessimistic and resigned, I found talking about it deeply up-lifting. This is partly the subtle therapy of acknowledging the truths that hide in plain sight, though also because despite the insecurity that living here entails; it ’s an altogether more humane place to inhabit. It’s where we recognise our int... See more
I don’t have any answers because I don’t think there are any. But I’m fond of Margaret Wheatley’s framing of creating “islands of sanity,” which a kind reader reminded me of in the lovely comments of my last post. These islands are crucially not places of retreat, but rather of contribution — hyperlocal, small in scale, yet deeply meaningful. To re... See more
The next stage of human economy will parallel what we are beginning to understand about nature. It will call for the gifts of each of us; it will emphasize cooperation over competition; it will encourage circulation over hoarding; and it will be cyclical, not linear. Money may not disappear anytime soon, but it will serve a diminished role even as ... See more
emotional hygiene is not another thing to do perfectly. it’s not about becoming immune to spirals or forever calm or unshakably centered. it’s about cleaning up often enough that you don’t mistake the mess for your personality. it’s about catching the overwhelm before it becomes a worldview. it’s about building the quiet skill of knowing when your ... See more