The work of Ayana V Jackson made me stop and stare. These images are from Jackson’s 2016 Dear Sarah series, and I just love every one of them.
I also like Jackson’s Intimate Justice series, but this photo especially.
These two carton pendants made me look.
On his recent Pinkcast, Daniel Pink spoke with Christine Porath for 100 seconds (I love short snippets!) about how to make your workplace kinder. One of the ways that people can act with civility, Porath shared, is by following the 10-5 rule. The rule is that if someone is within 10 feet away, the polite thing to do is to nod and smile. If someone is within 5 feet away, the polite behaviour is to say hello. I think this is a great guideline, and I’m going to try to put it into action.
While in Stratford a couple of weeks ago, I had several friendly conversations with complete strangers in stores and cafĂ©s. I feel like I upped notch on the 10-5 rule. Maybe I added a 1…as in if someone is within 1 foot, strike up a conversation. Read body language. Make a connection. It’s nice to speak to strangers and realize what you have in common.
So, what do you do? Do you talk to strangers? Say hello to passerby on the street?
Porath is the author of Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace.
I am so excited about today. Why? Because I’m doing nothing. I’m just hanging out at home and catching up on life. I’ve had a busy fall (as per usual because of my work schedule), and while I’m grateful that I have friends and family who plan awesome events, dinners, parties, and outings, every so often, I need space. My space. To feel organized. To clean my house. To make a real meal. To spend time being lazy. Today is the day.
1.Music. I’m still a big fan of Lizzo. Here she is doing a music challenge with Elle magazine.
2. Living. Looking for a few ideas to increase your sustainable living ways? Read this.
3. Decor. If you’re looking to know about the best white paint colours, read Jacquelyn’s post.
4. Pet. I got a fish this week. I almost wrote that I got a dog. But, it’s a fish. A fancy betta fish. It’s not white, and I’m perfectly okay with that. Its colouring is lovely. Right now, his name is JC. The dog decision is on hold for a while until I figure out my allergy issues. Sigh. For now, if you need a dog sitter, let me know.
5. Charity. One of the events that I attended last week was Daniela‘s fundraiser for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation; the event raised $14,000 for the foundation, which is absolutely amazing! Congrats, Daniela!
6. Books. I finished Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin. I didn’t love it. It was long. I wasn’t fully engaged. It was the first Margaret Atwood book I have ever read. I’m open to reading others. Any recommendations (besides Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments)?
I started Colson Whitehead’s Sag Harbour this week. I’m only a few chapters in, but I’m liking it so far.
7. Waterloo. Last night, I attended the Arts Awards Waterloo Region to recognize artists in our region. I amazed by people’s creativity. And I’m so glad there’s a strong community of people who support the arts.
8. Food. When the weather turned cold, I picked all the green cherry tomatoes that were still growing in my garden, and I put them in a bag. I’m happy to report that they all turned red. I am roasting them now, and my kitchen is smelling so good.
I hope you have a great Saturday doing whatever is that you love and need to do!
1.Read. I am a Too Much Woman by Ev’Yan Whitney. (via Swiss Miss)
“There she is. . . the “too much” woman. The one who loves too hard, feels too deeply, asks too often, desires too much.
There she is taking up too much space, with her laughter, her curves, her honesty, her sexuality. Her presence is as tall as a tree, as wide as a mountain. Her energy occupies every crevice of the room. Too much space she takes.
There she is causing a ruckus with her persistent wanting, too much wanting. She desires a lot, wants everything—too much happiness, too much alone time, too much pleasure. She’ll go through brimstone, murky river, and hellfire to get it. She’ll risk all to quell the longings of her heart and body. This makes her dangerous.
She is dangerous.
And there she goes, that “too much” woman, making people think too much, feel too much, swoon too much. She with her authentic prose and a self-assuredness in the way she carries herself. She with her belly laughs and her insatiable appetite and her proneness to fiery passion. All eyes on her, thinking she’s hot shit.
Oh, that “too much” woman. . . too loud, too vibrant, too honest, too emotional, too smart, too intense, too pretty, too difficult, too sensitive, too wild, too intimidating, too successful, too fat, too strong, too political, too joyous, too needy—too much.
She should simmer down a bit, be taken down a couple notches. Someone should put her back in a more respectable place. Someone should tell her.
Here I am. . . a Too Much Woman, with my too-tender heart and my too-much emotions.
A hedonist, feminist, pleasure seeker, empath. I want a lot—justice, sincerity, spaciousness, ease, intimacy, actualization, respect, to be seen, to be understood, your undivided attention, and all of your promises to be kept.I’ve been called high maintenance because I want what I want, and intimidating because of the space I occupy. I’ve been called selfish because I am self-loving. I’ve been called a witch because I know how to heal myself.
And still. . . I rise.”
— Ev’Yan Whitney
2. Watch. I saw Jojo Rabbit this week, and I thought it was excellent. It had the theatre laughing, smiling, and crying. It told a well-known story from a unique satirical perspective. Teaser: Jojo’s imaginary best friend is Hitler.
3. Do. I have been taking flamenco dancing lessons this fall, and I’ve been enjoying it so much. I have learned a lot! And I definitely love wearing my flamenco skirt! (Thanks, B, for the skirt. Thanks, M, for challenging me to take a dance class.)
4. Do. Two weeks ago, I bought a Verilux Happy Light at Costco. Sitting in front of it for about 15 minutes a day is supposed to help with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). I’m not sure if I suffer from SAD, but I figured the light can’t hurt. And since it was on sale, and Costco has a great return policy, I figured I had nothing to lose. For the last two weeks, I’ve been using it every morning for 15 minutes or so. Have I noticed a difference? Yes. I have noticed that I have energy all day long. You know that 3pm, 4pm slump that many of us get? Well, I haven’t had that in 2 weeks! I haven’t changed my activities or my diet, and I seem to have energy all day long. It could be the light or it could be a whole bunch of other things, but I’m going to continue with the light because, well, why not?
5. Think. What does everyone think of the dramatic flooding in Venice this week? It makes me sad to see destruction.
Have a great weekend, everyone!