#186: stumbling, love poems & wisdom from Maira ❤️
Hello friend/stranger/person on the other side of this screen.
There’s been a going inwards for me recently, and there is a light shining at a distance but it feels nearer than it has been in a long time. I’ve been processing a lot of things and taking time off work, away from my laptop, to understand what my path looks like. The big picture et cetera. How do I want it to look? Who do I want to be?
I stumbled upon this thought from Dani Medrano in her newsletter Self Made that resonated hard and helped me breathe easier:
"If stumbling is the path, rather than a sign that we fucked up the path, how might we interact with the stumble in a way that fosters curiosity, an expanded self-awareness, and the resilience to not get stuck in shame or failure, but to simply get back on course and continue apace?
“Stumbling is a sign of momentum” is self-compassion, kindness and forgiveness right at the moment we need it most. This is something we can offer to ourselves, this is how we resource back into ourselves; this is us not dependent on anyone or anything outside of ourselves to make us OK. This is how we begin to trust and take care of ourselves. This is us, reminding ourselves of our precious humanity, this is the joy of not being a robot. This is harm reduction, and harm reduction is recovery. This is how we change.”
I don’t know why we give ourselves more grief than we need to when the outcome we hoped for don’t happen. The world and society have enough sorrow to takes care of that. Forgive. Accept. Begin Again.
What are the ways in which you take care of yourself, and cultivate self-trust? I’d love to know. Maybe we can learn from each other?
Poetry Corner
I’ve been hoarding some stunning love poems for you to read this week + I really wanted to share Shikha Nambiar’s beautiful artwork in the newsletter:
1. The Thing Is by Ellen Bass
to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.
2. Morning by Frank O’Hara
I’ve got to tell you
how I love you always
I think of it on grey
mornings with death
in my mouth the tea
is never hot enough
then and the cigarette
dry the maroon robe
chills me I need you
and look out the window
at the noiseless snow
At night on the dock
the buses glow like
clouds and I am lonely
thinking of flutes
I miss you always
when I go to the beach
the sand is wet with
tears that seem mine
although I never weep
and hold you in my
heart with a very real
humor you’d be proud of
the parking lot is
crowded and I stand
rattling my keys the car
is empty as a bicycle
what are you doing now
where did you eat your
lunch and were there
lots of anchovies it
is difficult to think
of you without me in
the sentence you depress
me when you are alone
Last night the stars
were numerous and today
snow is their calling
card I’ll not be cordial
there is nothing that
distracts me music is
only a crossword puzzle
do you know how it is
when you are the only
passenger if there is a
place further from me
I beg you do not go
3. I Want You by Jonathan Potter
I want to run my fingers through the flames
Of your fiery hair, feel the fabric of
Your love, the weave of your life in my calloused hands,
I want to feel you up close, pressed
Against me for a long moment that lingers
For days, I want all of you and parts
Of you, I want to collect you and keep you
If only for that moment. And if I may
I want to find my way inside you to
The very depths of you, to learn every contour
And fold of you, and then simply to be
With you, entirely, without fear, without
The past, without the future, only now
And only you and me and fire and light
4. Stationery by Agha Shahid Ali
The moon did not become the sun.
It just fell on the desert
in great sheets, reams
of silver handmade by you.
The night is your cottage industry now,
the day is your brisk emporium.
The world is full of paper.
Write to me.
5. Rent by Jane Cooper
If you want my apartment, sleep in it
but let's have a clear understanding:
the books are still free agents.
If the rocking chair's arms surround you
they can also let you go,
they can shape the air like a body.
I don't want your rent, I want
a radiance of attention
like the candle's flame when we eat,
I mean a kind of awe
attending the spaces between us---
Not a roof but a field of stars.
Recommended Listening
Are You Ok - Begum (New Begum. Yay!)
Links of the Month
last picture show (This page is one of the sole reasons I’m still on Tumblr)
An 8-year-old slid his handwritten book onto a library shelf. It now has a years-long waitlist. (Heck yeah!)
Do: The Hue Test
“Art not advertising”: Brindha Kumar on her otherworldly illustrations for Porsche
Could literary newsletters, and their influential creators, impact Indians' reading habits?
We got featured in this lovely piece by Tasneem Pocketwala on News9 Live.
An excerpt that made me smile:
Jayesha M Koushik, a regular reader of The Alipore Post, says that newsletters "offer a quick dip" into the kind of thoughtful reading that requires you to be attentive but leaves you feeling differently than when you first clicked on it. "There is a certain intimacy that comes with emails. They go deeper than social media, where you might be following someone but know them only at the surface."
Thank you Jayesha for the kind words and Tasneem for writing this!
#FreeStorytellingWorkshop by Eye Myth Festival
Whatever the medium, the impact of creative content upon an audience depends very much on how well the story is told. Storytelling skills are built upon a knowledge of what makes stories work. In this stimulating session we explore the ‘history of story’ across time and across cultures, in a quest (remember that word!) to understand some basic principles of storytelling which can inform creative practice. Via a keynote address and interactive exercises participants will learn how a solid grounding in story equips creators, producers and directors to source finance, put together a team, and bring what they once just imagined into being.
Free workshop, registration mandatory.
Register here.
Duration: 90 mins
Date: 20th March
Time: 11.30 am- 1.00 pm IST // 5.00 pm- 6.30 pm Melbourne
Facilitated by Stephen Luby, Lecturer - Master of Producing
Spotted this important piece of wisdom by illustrator Maira Kalam on swiss miss.
“Wonderful things can happen when your brain is empty.”
-Maira Kalman
A gentle reminder to empty your brain every now and then and see what happens! I’m going to try and do that with the help of this Yoga Nidra meditation I like before bed.
Take care and good night!
Rohini