#244 Moving Box Palace
01 September 2021 // San Diego, California
I talk about climate for a living and it’s been such a relentless month when it comes to that. And I’ve been at a distance from those living through the hurricane in Louisiana and Mississippi, the wildfires in Turkey, the unbreathable air in the northern states, or the climate induced famine in Madagascar.
When the IPCC Report was released the other week, declaring a Code Red for humanity, it was sobering- but not all that surprising to those who’ve been working on climate solutions up close for a little while. Working in a solutions-oriented space can be frustrating sometimes, when it feels like people put up so much resistance to change, when it seems like it takes moving mountains to get people to simply enact readily available solutions.
But, climate anxiety and a belief and passion for climate solutions co-exist. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen someone truly engaged in solutions who doesn’t feel both pretty strongly. But when you choose to actually engage the solutions rather than giving into fatalism, you get to be around those people. You get to weather days with hurricanes and scientific reports together, and you also get to be wowed and inspired by their brilliance and grit.
I suppose all this is a long winded way of saying the real treasure is the friends you make along the way, but… y’know.
We’re all living through this crisis, and there’s no way I’d rather face it than leaning into solutions alongside other passionate and engaged people.
#245 Banyon Walks
02 September 2021 // San Diego, California
Why do we keep books?
Truth? Whenever I walk into somebody’s house, I size up their bookshelf and it often gives me clues about the stuff we’ll be able to connect on.
To be fair, I return the favor.
And I do think it’s kind of a fun collage of my very eclectic interests.
#246 Flatbread After Shang Chi
03 September 2021 // San Diego, California
I went to go see Shang Chi last night, super pumped but also a little bit… nervous? I’d been looking forward to this moment since summer 2018 when Comic Con told me the guy behind Jung from Kim’s Convenience was about to enter the MCU.
The representation sweats are real. First stand-alone Asian super? Lead role, not the sidekick or anything? Yeah I wanted this to be goooood.
Thankfully it’s the real deal.
The choreography that goes into a classic martial arts film, bringing the elegance of dance, intensity of combat, and wizardry of film is its own art form. (Jet Li’s Fearless, anyone?) And this film is such a glorious bask in the craft for most of its runtime. But from a distinctly Asian American POV, not with an exoticized foreigner.
I was wondering what layered cultural issues they might pack into the plot and- that stuff is there. Becoming your whole self by embracing your past, the richness of your ancestry alongside generational traumas and toxic upbringings, but more important than me being able to connect the stuff on screen to academic level conversations about Asian American relations was what the 10 year old a couple rows back was taking in.
Deanna once asked me what on screen characters I saw myself in growing up, and the answer was thin. Maybe the Fresh Prince both going from Philly to Cali?
But yeah, I’m thankful for a whole generation that’ll have much better answers than that.
#247 IKEA Gardens
04 September 2021 // San Diego, California
What is representation exactly?
You hear so much about it, you know it’s a big deal, and you know I’m always gonna celebrate it where I find it, but it’s more than just showing up to see Shang Chi even though that movie slaps, right?
The stuff we see on screens is a big part of it. As a kid and teenager, I was involved in plays, theatre and all kinds of stuff like that for over a decade. I don’t think I once got cast as a lead with any romance. I brushed it off, while also wondering if skin and appearance had something to do with it- it rarely feels like blatant discrimination- but there’s always a lingering question about how much you’re held back by not looking like what someone envisioned for a certain role.
Spoiler alert, things worked out pretty well for me in the romantic realm, I’d say! But still, I’m often aware that I need to jump through more hoops to make up for not looking like what someone expected.
I’ve been asked if I know of any speakers who could share about the topics I specifically specialize in speaking about. It never occurred to the person that the reason why there aren’t many well known speakers of color in that space is because we’re often asked if we “know of anyone” instead of if we could just do the job.
That’s why I think anyone who has a piece of marginalized identity within them can contribute to representation. You don’t have to be Simu Liu. Just think of any area your life intersects with where a kid who shares that identity doesn’t get the chance to see themselves very often.
Is it in the role of an inspiring spokesperson? A teacher? A performer? An elder who listens to kids and takes them seriously? A consistent and mindful parent?
This whole thing is about breaking expectations so it can feel like switch hitting against what I’ve been told humility should look like: shrinking yourself. Instead it’s rising, taking space, and taking others with you. And that’s where I see how someone can know their strengths and seek to let them shine in a way that’s more than humble: because you’re leaving the doors behind you open for others.
#248 Go Loyal
05 September 2021 // San Diego, California
I did not forsee Tony Leung’s appeal being one of the big outcomes of Shang Chi, but I’m all for it. I stand to benefit in the near future from building the foundation for appreciating middle aged Asian men today.
#249 Rose Lassi
06 September 2021 // San Diego, California
Our country’s longest running war is over. I didn’t think it was possible to say a sentence like that in such a deflated way, though.
So much of what I wish I could change is out of my control. The human sized tasks in front of me look more like filling out a form to sponsor refugees, packaging together a welcome kit, and continuing to promote the spirit of welcome.
I’ve carried around this picture of a sign saying “You’re Welcome at Our Table” on my phone for three years. I snapped this in Nashville. From the window of Woolworth’s on 5th.
That just so happens to be the site of numerous lunch counter protests in the 1960s. One where John Lewis was arrested. Technically the original establishment shut forever ago, but since then a new recreation of a restaurant emerged, paying homage to the history and serving great (and somewhat pricey) food.
A heart of welcome looks like a lot of things: a Oaxacan community preparing their biggest feast in over a year during my visit, a Karen refugee showing me his favorite restaurant during a grand tour of his refugee camp, or a conversation in Nashville where the bartender and I sat at the historic counter and joked about being the only Asians in sight.
It’s something I’ve encountered the world over, from Haiti to Tanzania to Morocco. I’ve always felt like I’ve always received much more of the welcome than I’ve given, and almost embarrassingly, I’ve received so much hospitality from many with far less privilege.
I’m still looking for a better word than ‘hospitality’ to describe this. That seems too stiff. It’s more like an enthusiastic celebration of your humanity and sacredness. And it’s taught me to outright reject any language that paints a picture of us-and-them, viewing anyone not familiar to us as a threat. Any rhetoric about why some group of people will take jobs or spots in schools meant for us based on a manufactured sense of scarcity just misses me.
Instead, I want to inhale and exhale the exact opposite vibe. One I’m still looking for a word for. Something beyond hospitality. You are welcome because you are.
#250 I Voted (Again)
07 September 2021 // San Diego, California
Couldn’t have asked for a better long weekend. Highlights included finally making it to a
San Diego Loyal game and showing up for a 4-2 win over LA.
Also, this paella is the most extra stadium concession I’ve ever ordered and it was fantastic.
#251 City of Los Angeles
08 September 2021 // Los Angeles, California
It’s not much of a secret that one of my very favorite things to do in life is to experience cultures and traditions through the firsthand stories of of people who live it.
My time in Oaxaca was full of that.
I’m excited to share to share this peek behind the scenes of what a week of community visits, interviews, hospitality, and story collecting looks like. From edible corn fungus, to the seven types of mole, to the postage stamp museum.
So grateful for people like Alier, Esperanza, and Teborino for their welcoming spirit.
#252 We’re All Climate Hypocrites Now
09 September 2021 // San Diego, California
The past two months have been such a blitz of us between needing to find a place very quickly that could fit three kids then having to go actually do them move.
Thankfully we’re kind of settled in now. I remember the last stretch of Deanna’s pregnancy with Rhys pretty fondly.
It felt like it wasn’t until the final trimester that a bunch of the complications started to ease up and we could just enjoy ourselves. We swam in the ocean with leopard sharks, went on some nature walks, and enjoyed our final date nights without having to worry about finding a sitter.
#253 Walks with Piecer
10 September 2021 // San Diego, California
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Naturally, what I’m about to cover deals with that topic, so if you’re not in the space for that, I’ll see you on a different post.
For others, you can be a part of helping somebody stay alive, and here are a few things to keep in mind.
First of all, it’s so easy to make assumptions about a person’s mental health based on their outside circumstances. Like if life looks one way, they *should* be happy, if it looks another way they *should* be depressed.
Circumstances are only one side of the coin. A person’s brain chemistry and a whole bunch of other things also factor in. Suicide contemplation is not so black and white.
I’ve found it more helpful to remember that within every person contemplating suicide, there are parts within them that still wish to remain alive that feel like their drowning.
For a helping person in crisis, this means one of your biggest objectives is to bring those parts to the surface. One of the most important elements is TIME. Crisis is not a fixed state and research shows that the more time you can buy for a person in crisis, the better you increase their chance to survive.
Talk. Listen. Call for help. It can be intimidating to think of the right words versus what not to say, but the main thing is to listen and not minimize their feelings.
Don’t think you’ll be the one to fix everything, but do act as though you might be the only one to reach out.
#254 Evening Lake Trail
11 September 2021 // San Diego, California
For us, kids were always part of the dream. They were part of the struggle when we weren’t sure that dream would be possible. And they remain a part of our future.
I have nothing but respect for those who have made the opposite choice, and when it comes to carbon outputs, the math makes sense. For me, however, baked into my understanding of fatherhood is a refusal to give up the pursuit of an abundant planet, alongside a clearer picture of what it takes to get there.
An oft-quoted statistic is how 100 companies are responsible for around 70% of carbon emissions. While I don’t think that reality negates all personal responsibilities when it comes to climate stewardship, it reminds me that these companies’ CEOs and shareholders have already had an outsized impact on our world, and it gives me no desire to make my decision to have or not have kids one more thing they have influence over.
Besides, a true solution to our climate crisis will take more than individual efforts.
#255 Cousin Dance Party
12 September 2021 // San Diego, California
So this week, a new reality game show was announced… The Activist, where activists go head to head to compete over social media metrics, prize money, and celebrity endorsements.
This sounds like it’d be a Key & Peele skit, but it’s real life. It would be a joke if it didn’t have such negative implications for what activism means. Way to trivialize a term when 40+ environmental activists a year are killed in the Philippines and Colombia.
Unsurprisingly, this show is getting dragged across my newsfeed and deservedly so. But if it makes you mad, consider that sometimes this isn’t so different from the nonprofit landscape at large.
Funding opportunities often pit organizations head to head, incentivizing each one to show how they’re better than others and to hold on to proprietary knowledge. Some invest more in social media metrics than proper monitoring and evaluation. This show isn’t so different, it just has Usher.
Folks in philanthropy should be aware of this and should focus in on creating opportunities for building collaboration rather than competition. If something works for one org and could make the world better by sharing it with other orgs, make that desireable!
And we need to emphasize community over celebrity. We show up because we belong to each other, not because we’re superstars. Activist shouldn’t be this glam label. We need more people to do everyday, non-broadcast things like talk about racism with family or close bank accounts that support fossil fuels instead of thinking it’s becoming Gandhi or bust.
#256 Daniel Drops By
13 September 2021 // San Diego, California
Someone recently shared, “I think the problem started when we started calling everything content instead of what it is.”
Agreed! And I wonder if we wouldn’t have leaned so heavily into the term if activities like blogging or social media weren’t initially written off as juvenile extras, but emerging spaces to show up.
#257 Alpendüler
14 September 2021 // San Diego, California
And… voted! Californians, don’t sit this one out.
The most pronounced political divide today isn’t the one everybody thinks of, between the usual sides. I think there’s a growing divide between people trying to make a point and those trying to make an impact.
Some laws are passed following years and years of public policy research, identifying the difference you want to make and the most proven methods of accomplishing that goal. Then there are the laws that go into effect and the candidates that go into office without any of that. They’re simply publicity stunts, meant to make a certain section of culture feel like they’re winning a war against their own.
That’s what you see when you see really belligerent behavior at school board meetings. Or when some of the candidate statements in my voters’ guides read more like Facebook rants than anything else.
The problem with belligerent behavior and large scale publicity stunts is that they’ll make you feel like we’re hopelessly divided, when in reality, we’re not quite as divided as you might think.
Take climate change, for instance. The number of Americans in full and complete denial is under 10%. But if you pay attention to the hottest debates, you’d think that it was more of a 50-50 split. That’s what happens when you give airtime to folks more interested in publicity than policy. Public health measures are similar. Things like masks in schools statistically have majority support, but are often derailed because of who actually shows up to school board meetings.
The point here? Show up. And keep showing up. Not just to the big November election every four years, but the midterms, the special elections, the city council meetings, and so on. And in non political ways too, of course, but our laws and environment are the two biggest ways to love our neighbors at scale. Use your voice and apply pressure even when your opinion doesn’t feel like a hot take. Because leaders need better feedback than hot takes.
#258 Boy Boy in a Box
15 September 2021 // San Diego, California
Of course I’m super excited for the twins to be here. I’ve always wanted a big family, honestly. Growing up I always thought the best thing was just a full house with lots of life overflowing. I never thought I would get to that big family in such a tightly packed way, but I love it.
I’m not going to lie, there are absolutely things I’m nervous about. Yes- we’re going to have three under three. If these twins show up a couple weeks early, we’ll have three under two, and it’s tough because Rhys isn’t so much older, he still needs a lot of hands on attention.
To me, though, it’s not so much the day-to-day chaos that intimidates me. Like, I feel like my baseline already has a good amount of chaos. Of course there will be moments and that won’t be easy. The thing that puts me more on edge, is the thought of how hard it will be to do much else. The other week, we just went out to get ramen after church, and we were talking about like, how do we even do this with three? We probably can’t. We probably have to just stay home and when someone gets down to a nap, I’ll have a short window to run out and grab takeout.
Like, I absolutely enjoy this life at home. But also, I think it’s clear enough, the other half of me is very adventure hungry. Right? Like, I’d love to be camping on the Orange River trying to take photos of the desert stars over Namibia. These things aren’t just like, leisure for me, but they fill my bucket and bring me to life. In the long run, I of course would love to have more adventures to bring kids along to and to introduce them to parts of the world, but that’s a little way off.
I want to still look for ways to have the adventures that I’m still able to have, to keep that bucket replenished enough, because I do not want to find myself wishing for this season to be over. As chaotic as it is, this is probably the sweetest season of my life, and I’m here for this.
#259 New Climate Reading
16 September 2021 // San Diego, California
You know what I love about the storytelling work I get to do? The human connections.
I think my interview with Don Carlos in Oaxaca was one of my strongest connections yet. Maybe it was a benefit of Spanish allowing us to talk with fewer barriers, or the simple fact that we seemed to share a sense of humor and a penchant for oscillating between joking and deeper talk.
Don Carlos’ story includes a three year stint in the US back when he didn’t think his farm could make it. (This our ability to joke around about Taco Bell)
Connections like these happen in a moment but stick in my memory forever.
#260 Wall Hangings
17 September 2021 // San Diego, California
I started running again, mostly for the sake of getting back in shape since I’ve done nearly nothing since Rhys was born. So I ran a little bit every week and picked it up more and more, and now I’m close to where I’ve been to run a half marathon.
I didn’t think this would work out at such great timing, especially since I’m only a few weeks away from our due date. But it looks like there’s just enough time to finish training and run my third half.
So I’ve looked a few up. Albuquerque. Denver. Columbus. Detroit.
I think I’ll go with Albuquerque. Just close enough to home to make it feasible for me to run over there quickly for a weekend, race, and come back.
#261 The Ripest Tomato
18 September 2021 // Ojai, California
Being a dad means being absurdly proud of something as simple as eating a tomato, huh? But that’s how we are.
For real though, I love how Rhys managed to find the readiest, reddest tomato off the vine in our friend’s garden and to know right away to sink his teeth into it. I love how much this guy appreciates nature and feels at home in the open despite being quarantined half his life around Southern California’s urban sprawl.
We’ve thrown so many changes Rhys’ way in the past month. We moved from our old place to a new one. Switching from a crib to a toddler bed. Graduating from the Caterpillar Room to the Monkey Room. Adaptable. Adventurous. All traits we love to see.
#262 Bart’s Books
19 September 2021 // Ojai, California
Ojai’s a pretty sweet place, isn’t it?
Last week, Deanna and I got to spend a few days at our friend Cheri’s ranch… probably the closest thing we’ll be able to get to a babymoon before the twins get here, and it was absolutely refreshing. It was great getting to catch up on years with a friend, to have Rhys run around gardens and chicken coops, and to take a long run by the Carpinteria Bluffs. Also got to hop into Downtown Ojai for a little bit. SO many great restaurants around, I wish I was there for more meals. Still loved the artist’s vibe and the fun outdoor bookstore.
Even though I live on the coast, I’m a mountain person at heart. (Though some of the best places give you a bit of both, don’t they?) The Santa Ynez mountains are a happy sight. They were the view from my dorm room freshman year. They’re in the background of a bunch of our wedding photos, and I’m still happy to swing by them in between major life changes.
It’s been a while since I lived on the Central Coast, and visiting sometimes feels like visiting a previous version of myself. But if that person could see where the road ahead leads, I’d say he’s got good reason to be excited.
#263 Ojai Babymoon
20 September 2021 // Ojai, California
“This is an ancient system… it goes back to the Gran Tenochitlan Era!”
When I was in Mexico, a number of different people, inclusive lot of Zapotec farmers, introduced me to the milpa system.
The milpa way of farming takes maize, beans, squash, and amaranth and plants them in alternating patterns. The maize makes a nice living barrier against soil erosion and the diversity means a crop disease can’t easily spread.
So many locals noted that the system resembled a healthy community for humans, too, where everyone has a special role towards a common goal.
Once I heard a description of this system the term “regenerative farming” was the first thing to pop into my head. It’s an increasingly trendy term that contains multitudes of different farming techniques that keep carbon stored in soil- like crop diversification and living barriers.
But what seems like a trendy new innovation is often a return to a way of doing things before it was disrupted by industrialization.
This was a face-to-face reminder that some of the best practices in areas like public health, climate solutions, and fire management aren’t new ones at all and they have their roots in indigenous knowledge.
There’s a great documentary called Gather that really gets into this.
It’s not just a matter of making sure credit goes where it’s deserved, though that should be enough of a reason on its own. But, all over the world, indigenous communities often face opposition in being able to manage their ancestral lands, with environmental reasons often cited.
There’s more to the harmony between land and livelihood than the various technical practices that make up regenerative farming- readdressing our relationship to the land and culture are also a critical part of indigenous world views.
#264 Reads for Goodbyes
21 September 2021 // San Diego, California
My reading list over the past month seemed to revolve around the themes of grief, saying goodbye, and choosing life in spite of it all.
Each of these was a book I anticipated for quite a while; two by Asian American authors, another by an old favorite.
I don’t exactly know how to describe what makes @jonnysun’s writing so incredible, or how it manages to be both so funny and honest in its simplicity and melancholy, but it does all that (see his ranking of the last fifteen minutes before the end of the world) and anchoring this collection of thoughts around the theme of moving made it all the more relatable.
Reading @agedungs graphic memoir chronicling the loss of his partner felt so deeply personal, yet I loved the way his journey was interwoven against the life stories of surfing pioneers who found the hobby as a solace of joy during an imperialist moment.
The Midnight Library had been on my list since I heard it announced. In many ways it seemed like a spiritual successor to @mattzhaig’s How To Stop Time, which is an all time fave. I love any piece of art that makes you feel deeply grateful to be alive.
#265 Home Lounge
22 September 2021 // San Diego, California
When their leader is assassinated, we hashtag hope for Haiti. We talk about how sorry we feel for people, mistaking men and women for their misery.
When an earthquake strikes we laud their resilience. We praise their ability to weather another storm, in the process making us feel better about it without having to change a single thing.
When that hope for a better life and resilience through every storm leads to a treacherous journey across seas, we run out of things to say. Convenient things to say.
Easier not to recognize hope and resilience anymore than to realize when we’re the ones standing in the way of it.
Easier not to recognize a country’s independence for over 20 years as a successful rebellion of an enslaved population when that would force you to reckon with your own practice of slavery.
Easier to keep a country in debt for 122 years than to trade and engage as equals.
Easier not to know this history. To know nothing of their Gold Reserve, rice dumps, and Novum Energy. Easier to stir up a panic over border crossings than to understand the completely legal and agreed upon process of asylum.
Give up the easy and comfortable narratives we’ve taught ourselves about Haiti.
#266 Pellet Shooter
23 September 2021 // San Diego, California
A video has gone viral of a middle school kid explaining power dynamics in class.
Most responses were blown away with the kid’s age. I thought the most impressive part of his clip was his clarity.
This really is the level of clarity that people should be bringing to discuss major problems we’re facing. Making it plain is a winning move.
#267 Oviedo Wedding 1
24 September 2021 // Oceanside, California
All throughout my life, a lot of the momentum towards social changes has been built up when a large group of people strongly believe they’re starting to see things not everyone sees: the unfair ways people in power operate behind the curtain.
Think of all the ways last year people felt like they were seeing experiences with racism more clearly than they had in the past. Of all the times people believed that health experts were being deliberately misleading. I picked these two examples because…
This works in multiple directions, for good and bad. Distrust in something- whether that’s media, a thought leader, or a political party, moves in the direction of challenging that institution. Good and bad leaders take turns in power, but in either scenario you can expect this.
And it comes from a legit place. Every sphere of life- media, art, work, business, has its gatekeepers. Those who decide what’s important, what’ll be popular, who to listen to. And they’ll inevitably be imperfect.
When those imperfections start to affect people- like when they don’t see their experiences reflected in your portrayal of the world, trust gets eroded. People look for alternatives. And as flawed as these gatekeepers are, they at least make it harder for the worst of misinformation and inflammatory speech to spread.
Divergent thinking becomes a badge of honor. But simply having a different perspective than the most widely accepted one isn’t always a good thing. Over a century ago, it helped invent an airplane, but divergent thinking in modern aviation disregards physics and would probably kill a bunch of people…
Unless it invents an accessible form of renewable jet fuel and greatly decreases atmospheric greenhouse gas. Then it saves a bunch of lives. See how this works?
This is one of the reasons why I think inclusive storytelling is both so important and widely underestimated. Inclusive storytelling means people’s experiences are shown, seen, and considered, meaning fewer people will come to the rightful conclusion that mainstream information doesn’t apply to them.
Inclusive storytelling is the opposite of gatekeeping, always looking for who’s missing and what stories we ne
At its best, inclusive storytelling is the opposite of gatekeeping, letting other people in.
When you have more diverse views, the harder it is for there to be divergent views.
Inclusivity makes it possible for creative thinking to still emerge, while maintaining a safeguard against the worst forms of divergence.
#268 Oviedo Wedding 2
25 September 2021 // Escondido, California
This week, Deanna and I sold the spot we’ve lived in the past two years. There was just no way that place was gonna fit us all once we become a family of five, it had already been a tight squeeze.
That said, this place was HOME.
There were always wild things going on the neighborhood and weird little curveballs the small space would send our way, but it was where everything happened.
It was the first place we bought together.
It was where we brought Rhys home from the hospital, and introduced him to Beignet two nights later.
It was where we stayed inside for months and months while the world outside seemed to unravel.
And it was where we found out about some twins we’re gonna meet soon.
Our adventures ahead are now meant for different spaces.
A little something from Jonny Sun’s Goodbye, Again:
“I suppose that all I hope for is for this home to remember me the way I remember it: imperfect, quiet, creaking, but always trying to be something better than it is on paper, in person, in memory.”
#269 Been a Long One
26 September 2021 // San Diego, California
The simple reality is that any joy you experience will happen simultaneously alongside the suffering of others. Our world is large enough that this will always be the case. And there may be times where you have to be cautious with how you communicate your joy out of respect for others’ experiences, but know that in the long run, joy is what sustains lasting and meaningful change.
When we look at altruism with a zero-sum, binary lens, we create a world where people are less likely to engage in solutions. Who wants to be constantly in an environment where people seem to take things too seriously?
I think we would be much better served if our idea of activism, of change-making, and of healing the world wasn’t one of heroic self-sacrifice, but a communal vision of joy. We don’t get involved in the hard work of justice, solutions, and liberation to make heroes out of ourselves, but because this is simply what you do when you are part of a community and other members of the community suffer. You work to restore the joy of that community.
Being able to see and unearth the joy in our work makes all of this more accessible, and all of this more possible.
#270 Afternoon Miramar Run
27 September 2021 // San Diego, California
The land beneath us contains stories, and over the past two years while I’ve had to travel a lot less in search of stories, I’ve learned how the land close to home still often contains stories that have been buried or overlooked.
Dodger Stadium is the perfect example of this.
I’ve gone to a good number of games here. I’ve spent more time driving around Central L.A. than I wish to admit, but it was only this year when I learned about the three neighborhoods and the Latino families that were forcibly removed when Dodger Stadium was built.
Part of what sticks with me about this story are how so many elements of it are still in place. And whenever an Olympic year or a World Cup comes to a city, similar things still happen.
But hopefully knowing our past missteps will help us recognize our future ones before they happen.
#271 Noah’s Ark
28 September 2021 // San Diego, California
Indigenous scientist and writer Robin Wall Kimmerer diagnoses our sense of individualism as part of the problem. In her book, Braiding Sweetgrass, she describes our “deep, unnamed sadness stemming from estrangement from the rest of Creation, from the loss of relationship. As our human dominance of the world has grown, we have become more isolated, more lonely when we can no longer call out to our neighbors.”
The antidote must be a reawakened sense of community, nurture and togetherness. Kimmerer later suggests learning from how trees “act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together.”
Parenthood is a great way, but not the only way, to develop these instincts. Of choosing togetherness rather than heroics. Of thinking long term about how our impact will outlast ourselves. Of forming sacred bonds with one another, and with the web of creation that connects all of us. In order to protect nature, we must relearn how to nurture.
#272 Complex
29 September 2021 // San Diego, California
I’ve finally started managing a small team, and even though I don’t have a lot of experience managing others, I suppose I do have plenty of experience with being managed, which helps shape some of what I realize makes for being a good manager.
Here are a few of the commitments I’m making to myself whenever I’m in the role:
+ Not normalizing overwork. Sometimes I do work at odd hours, mostly because having really young kids makes that shift necessary time to time. But I want to be mindful that even sending a weekend email may create that expectation without realizing it.
+ Making sure that whatever somebody’s working on at a given time is a combination of what they’re interested in with the necessary busy work. Making sure there’s room to play and explore your own interests is key to having more fun with the work you’re doing and ultimately producing more creative outcomes.
+ Doing regular check ins, not just to make sure people who work for me are on track with organizational goals, but also their own personal goals.
+ If somebody’s been working for me for over four years and hasn’t been elevated to higher responsibilities (or a role more fitted for them) in some way, then that’s on me.
#273 New Climate Reads
30 September 2021 // San Diego, California
Like, well, a TON of people, I’ve been enjoying Squid Game. Both the show and the fact that it seems to have taken just one week for the show to become a mega-phenomenon. I have a few thoughts.
First, this show reminds me so much of 3%- I mean, the premise isn’t so far off, and neither are the broader themes. But the level of intensity is kind of turned up thanks to Korean cinema.
I’ve learned a bit about how at several points the subtitles grossly simplify some translations that are supposed to carry either major plot points or character development information. I suppose I can’t rule that out anytime I watch a subtitled film, but what other options do I have with the languages I don’t speak.
Finally, it’s the second time in three years that a fairly dark story from Korea has made such a splash. With Parasite, there was at least more of a throughline between the show getting such good critical reviews and people starting to flock to see it. Squid Game made the jump that much faster.
It feels really good to have a story that keeps you glued.