Wow I definitely needed to hear this as I'm feeling all these exact feelings - thanks for putting it into words as I was not yet ready to do that myself!
I’m a recent Substack reader. But I will qualify that - for over a year, I’ve read only “Letters from an American”, but during the past 3 weeks, I began reading posts from other authors. I’ve read several of your posts yesterday and today. Thank you very much for publishing your insights. This post in particular brings to mind the work of another wise woman, Pema Chodron. She advises observing that which makes us uncomfortable with openess and curiosity. Thank you again, Libby Boyea Mai
Libby: Thank you for much for this comment. I'm so pleased that you've enjoyed my writing. It's very humbling to be thought of in relation to Pema Chodron! If my work could come anywhere close to having her impact, I'd be blown away. :-)
This reads for me like a beautiful invitation to come outside and breath in the fresh air. I will come back to this because there is something pure and special in these words. Thank you
Great article. And it seems ripe for further commentary in the context of your past article on bodily desire being blunted by Ozempic and other drugs. Is your body a machine or a fiesta?
I bring it up because people are stopping when they take Ozempic It’s amazing how this WaPo (gift link) lays out the consequences. (happening now! Oreo sales are down) when people take Ozempic. The article focuses on how industries are preparing to respond to consumer choices and seek to evolve offerings to fit new tastes. So the overall systemic forces that we are in may not change even if our desire for dopamine from food, alcohol and gaming specifically diminishes. Curious to hear your thoughts.
I also see a lot of nuance in today’s article that I appreciate. It reminds me how much I love a “how to” manual and will tune for “5 steps to re-wild”. Lately, I’ve been influenced by Byung-chul Han’s refusal to ever give advice and rather focuses on bearing witness to the suffering we create when we become more isolated and individualistic and focused on productivity. But alas - no amount of productivity will ever be enough. There is no such thing as redemption in our current framework. But we toil.
Wow I definitely needed to hear this as I'm feeling all these exact feelings - thanks for putting it into words as I was not yet ready to do that myself!
Thank you so much for saying this! I'm very glad it was helpful.
I’m a recent Substack reader. But I will qualify that - for over a year, I’ve read only “Letters from an American”, but during the past 3 weeks, I began reading posts from other authors. I’ve read several of your posts yesterday and today. Thank you very much for publishing your insights. This post in particular brings to mind the work of another wise woman, Pema Chodron. She advises observing that which makes us uncomfortable with openess and curiosity. Thank you again, Libby Boyea Mai
Libby: Thank you for much for this comment. I'm so pleased that you've enjoyed my writing. It's very humbling to be thought of in relation to Pema Chodron! If my work could come anywhere close to having her impact, I'd be blown away. :-)
really needed this today. Thank you for writing 🤍
I'm so glad to hear it was helpful! Thank you very much for telling me.
This reads for me like a beautiful invitation to come outside and breath in the fresh air. I will come back to this because there is something pure and special in these words. Thank you
Oh, Jen -- thank you so much for this! Yes yes yes -- going outside and breathing is exactly the thing to do.
Great article. And it seems ripe for further commentary in the context of your past article on bodily desire being blunted by Ozempic and other drugs. Is your body a machine or a fiesta?
https://open.substack.com/pub/therapysocialchange/p/is-your-body-a-machine-or-a-fiesta?r=r2ck&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
I bring it up because people are stopping when they take Ozempic It’s amazing how this WaPo (gift link) lays out the consequences. (happening now! Oreo sales are down) when people take Ozempic. The article focuses on how industries are preparing to respond to consumer choices and seek to evolve offerings to fit new tastes. So the overall systemic forces that we are in may not change even if our desire for dopamine from food, alcohol and gaming specifically diminishes. Curious to hear your thoughts.
https://wapo.st/3Fdp1SA
I also see a lot of nuance in today’s article that I appreciate. It reminds me how much I love a “how to” manual and will tune for “5 steps to re-wild”. Lately, I’ve been influenced by Byung-chul Han’s refusal to ever give advice and rather focuses on bearing witness to the suffering we create when we become more isolated and individualistic and focused on productivity. But alas - no amount of productivity will ever be enough. There is no such thing as redemption in our current framework. But we toil.