Tiny Revolutions №9: Over the River and Through the Woods
Tiny Revolutions №9: Over the River and Through the Woods
+ a screen time out got me in my feelings
I heard from a friend that another friend forwarded her the last issue of Tiny Revolutions and asked her if she should be worried. I guess I sounded pretty down.
Oops. In my defense, this is a fucking newsletter about coping with depression! Hahaha. OK seriously though, I wrote a whole thing about how you shouldn’t worry about me, and the fact that I’m writing this is a good sign and blah blah blah. And that’s all true. But now, cut to my having skipped a newsletter in my usual bi-monthly cycle, I feel like I need to make something else clear: that my *not* writing this also doesn’t mean you *should* worry.
The whole reason I started writing this newsletter was that I wanted to help normalize being a crazy person. Because, honestly? Diagnoses notwithstanding, I don’t actually think I’m that crazy. Or at least not crazier than most people I know.
That said, one of the reasons I’ve been off schedule is because I’ve been taking my own advice and have severely limited my screen time with the help of the new Apple controls. I was in the habit of picking up Instagram 15 times a day and each one of those times could be a rabbit hole. And that can still happen, but it’s much rarer now.
The surprising thing is that I just find I’m not as interested. More and more I’m reminded that the only connections that matter are the ones you make one to one, either in person or digitally.
So yeah, it’s put me off writing a newsletter, I’ll admit. But hey, I’m still here. I love writing this because I know it helps me when other people share their struggles, so I’m trying to return the favor. And of course I love hearing back from you. So write to me and tell me something.
Onward.
Another reason I’ve been MIA is that I went back east for a couple of weeks last month to spend time with my dear aunt, who is very ill with cancer, and yes, that was as hard as it sounds. But a bright spot is that I got to introduce her to meditation, and she is crazy about it. Have I talked about the Insight Timer app here? It’s free and you should get it and friend me on there so we can thank each other for meditating together. It also has some cool social features so you can see all the meditations I do for building self-belief and awakening the heart and letting go of attachment and everything else. I know I just talked a lot of shit about social networks, but this is different, and seriously, I love it a lot.
Ever wonder if you’ll ever hit your peak, or that maybe you already had it or you missed it because you were binge drinking (or binge watching)?
A study published in Nature found that about 90 percent of people will experience a “hot streak” in their career, which is that span of a few years when a person’s greatest, most effective work is produced. And — here’s the good part — your hot streak can appear at any point in your working life, meaning that it’s never too late (or too early) to hit your peak.
Did the above passage resonate a bit too much? You should probably click here.
Those Silicon Valley wizards are working on an app that can tell if you’re depressed before you know it yourself. This cracks me up because if it gets any kind of adoption, I think a lot of people who would sooner die than admit they have problems might get some unpleasant news. Still and all, I’m for it. Let’s all stay healthy.
Do you need to prepare for the “emotional storm” of the holidays? I sure as hell do. Here are some tips.
Speaking of the holidays, here’s a timely reminder courtesy of the excellent Bojack Horseman.
Here’s a favorite poem from the recently departed Tony Hoagland. RIP, sir.
I Have News for You
Tony Hoagland, 1953 - 2018
There are people who do not see a broken playground swing as a symbol of ruined childhood
and there are people who don’t interpret the behavior of a fly in a motel room as a mocking representation of their thought process.
There are people who don’t walk past an empty swimming pool and think about past pleasures unrecoverable
and then stand there blocking the sidewalk for other pedestrians. I have read about a town somewhere in California where human beings
do not send their sinuous feeder roots deep into the potting soil of others’ emotional lives
as if they were greedy six-year-olds sucking the last half-inch of milkshake up through a noisy straw;
and other persons in the Midwest who can kiss without debating the imperialist baggage of heterosexuality.
Do you see that creamy, lemon-yellow moon? There are some people, unlike me and you,
who do not yearn after fame or love or quantities of money as
unattainable as that moon;
thus, they do not later
have to waste more time
defaming the object of their former ardor.
Or consequently run and crucify themselves in some solitary midnight Starbucks Golgotha.
I have news for you— there are people who get up in the morning and cross a room
and open a window to let the sweet breeze in and let it touch them all over their faces and bodies.And finally, I’m still in LA but I’m also plotting some time away this winter. Easing out of my comfort zone with little forays here and there, just to see how it *feels* to exist in another locale. That’s neither here nor there, but I just kinda needed an excuse to post one of my favorite songs from The Glands.
What’s new with you? How you feeling?
😘
Sara
p.s. I’m back to writing again and I’d love it if you’d share this newsletter with someone who might appreciate it. They can subscribe here.