Seeking Softness

A week in which I sought out softness (in community, in self-love and care, in the arts) to counterbalance the brutal realities that surround us. A week in which I realized the need to pace myself; I do believe that good will ultimately prevail, but that it may take a while.

Ways I Found Joy This Week

Relaxing and unknotting with a deep tissue massage

Meeting at a local museum to introduce the CWP to my 7^th grade bestie (an amazing artist) so we could check out and discuss mosaics and other art

Surrendering to a sound bath after yoga (and yes, I may have snored, once)

Relaxing during several sessions of the CWP reading me Wuthering Heights (a sweet, albeit unnecessary, reward for all those years I read our favorites aloud)

Indulging in a successful shopping spree at Marshall’s after deciding that I’m no longer wearing anything, including workout clothes, that doesn’t both feel fabulous and make me smile (and recycling a number of items from my closet that didn’t meet those criteria)

Attending a brilliant, life-and-community-affirming play in which my former acting teacher made her triumphant return to the stage

Things I Learned This Week

A bit about the history of Mormon militias in the settlement of the West, including the Mountain Meadows Massacre

About the discovery of a fuzzy little dinosaur (Doolysaurus) in Korea

A little bit about antimatter

A little bit about snow flies

That growth continues after healing

Quotes That Resonated This Week

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

Viktor Frankl

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.

Carl Jung

What I Watched This Week

American Primeval (Netflix). An unflinching look at a brutal time in America (the expansion westward in the 1850s). Illuminating and so beautifully done. Both heartbreaking and uplifting.

Peaky Blinders (Netflix). I’ve just watched the pilot so far, but am certain that I’ll be a fan of this saga of a crime family in post-World War I Birmingham, England. Incredibly atmospheric, beautifully acted, and an invitation to delve deeper into history.

All the Empty Rooms (Netflix). I don’t often cry at movies, but this documentary photographing the rooms of children killed in school shootings had me in tears almost from the start. Maybe enough people watching this will lead to our collective “enough”.

Inside the Mind of a Dog (Netflix). I watched this documentary immediately following All the Empty Rooms to try to settle myself. And it worked, despite my realization halfway through that I’d already watched it when it came out in 2024. Worth a watch if you love dogs.

Will Trent (Hulu). In addition to Betty (the chihuahua fashionista), I love the protagonist’s rich inner life and almost childlike openness.

High Potential (Hulu). The crime solving is entertaining, but I also love how the main character is both a loose cannon and a fierce mama bear/outstanding parent.

Nuremberg (Netflix). Another history-based offering that I highly recommend, this powerful drama focuses on an American Army psychiatrist who is tasked with evaluating prominent players in the Nazi party after the war. A masterful illustration of the parallels to our current descent into fascism.

What I Read This Week

How to Commit a Post-Colonial Murder, by Nina McConigley. Georgie and her sister are young teens in 1980s Wyoming, living with their mother and her brother’s family (all immigrants from India) while their American father is mostly away on oil rigs. The murder that takes place is the least of the story; the observations about survival of trauma, identity and othering, coming-of-age, and sisterhood are keen and often witty.

It’s Not Her, by Mary Kubica. An engrossing thriller with twist upon twist which also examines family relationships in all their messy contradictions.

Clutch, by Emily Nemens. Five women who have been friends since college have a weekend reunion in Palm Springs, blissfully unaware that all of their lives are about to change dramatically. A masterful exploration of female friendships through diverse stages and circumstances of life.

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Thanks for reading!