Vol. 95: An Incomplete List of Hope

Here’s what has brought me joy in dark times -

• Reading my favorite poet Aracelis Girmay’s new collection - which includes the gorgeous piece, You Are Who I Love

• Playlists from Erin - including my newfound background coffee house music, Leisure

• Watching The First Wives Club for the first time

• Watching Modern Family for the millionth time

• Chakra Flow class with Melan at Grounded - unbeknownst to me, the focus of the class was on the Sacral Chakra. When I graduated from my yoga teacher training, my teachers picked a Chakra that most aligned with the energy of each of my classmates; for me, they chose the Sacral Chakra - the site of intimacy, pleasure, and creativity

• Four mile walks with Taylor along the Frederick Douglass Bridge

• When a group of people receives bad news, and we all rotate through FaceTimes, calls, and texts - checking in to make sure everyone is, if not okay, then supported

• When someone who sometimes says the wrong thing - says the right thing

• When times are tough but so many loved ones checking to see how you’re doing makes it managable

• My wife cleaning my handwash only mug - the one whose texture she hates touching - so I could wake up to a clean kitchen

• A black sesame rice krispy treat from my friend and yoga teacher when I made it out of bed to her class

• Cups of herbal tea

Reading Update

I read & LOVED Honoree Fannone Jeffers’ new collection, Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays & Writings. The essays were short, powerful, vulnerable. It is hard to top the essay she has about Baldwin as my favorite piece in the collection, but I loved her final piece too, which reads almost as a journal of her mother’s final days on earth.

I thought this cured me of my nonfiction focus issues, so I picked up Garrett M. Graff’s new oral history collection, The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making & Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb*. I absolutely loved his book The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11* and so far this is just ultimately less emotionally gripping. I’m about 25% through and the focus is a lot more on the physics than the people & politics behind it, though what I’ve learned about the connection behind the exile of Jewish scientists in Europe to the building of the bomb in the United States is fascinating. I’m hopeful it will pick up, but I may take a break to read the novel Dominion, which just came in from the library and both Erin and Morgan loved.

*both gifted by Avid Reader Press; thank you!

Yoga Corner

The heaviness in the DMV is palpable. One of the main things getting me through is movement & mindfulness practices & the people I’ve connected with through them. If you’re local, I’d love to see you on your mat to offer an hour of calm that can help you weather the storm.

Peace in Movement is now OPEN! I’m thrilled to be teaching Tuesdays and Thursday mornings at this new studio in downtown Silver Spring, located just blocks from the metro with lots of parking. Tuesdays at 7 AM will offer Energy & Ease, a mix of 40 minutes of vigorous, energizing vinyasa flow followed by 20 minutes of restful stretching and breathwork to start your day at peace. Thursday at 8:30 AM I will be teaching a Gentle Yoga Flow that will offer slow, mindful movement. Both are welcome of all levels, bodies & abilities.

I’ll also be teaching at Grace Studios free Wednesday Community Care class on Wednesday, October 1 at noon, also metro-accessible in downtown Silver Spring. This class is open to those affected by federal government layoffs, are part of the immigrant and/or LGBTQ community, or anyone else feeling impacted by these times. Come through & spend some time on your mat with me.

Let’s be in community together. Thank you for reading. Please respond to this & share what is bringing you hope - whether small moments or large scale actions - in these times. I’d love to share in a future newsletter.

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