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Diagnosis: SAR—Seasonal Affective Reordering
Do you go through mood shifts with the change of the seasons? I sure do.
- March 21, Vernal Equinox—also my birthday. What the hell am I doing? I’m another year older and time is flying—the hours, days, weeks collapse into an increasing blur. How can I spend whatever time I have left most wisely?
- June 21, Summer Solstice. The long days delude me into believing I’ve got forever, so just reeelaaaax. Mañana, baby, mañana.
- September 22, Autumn Equinox. Oh shit! I wake up. Get my notebooks, pencils, lesson plans in order. What was it I said I wanted to accomplish back in March? Oh yeah, that. I review my priorities—time to get cracking.
- December 21, Winter Solstice. Longest night of the year. Cozy down, nurture what is growing underground. Tomorrow we’re gifted a few more minutes of light.
For Fall 2023 my equinoctal shift is this: I need more time and focused energy to write, otherwise this new book will never get done. Alas, a day is still only 24 hours long, so something has to give. What will it be? …
I’m retiring from my color practice by the end of the year. The new kids have invaded my space and they are marketing whizzes—TikTok videos, YouTube tutorials, inexpensive online analyses (of dubious value…but that’s not my business). I love what I do, and believe the holistic process I use is the most accurate, thorough and helpful of them all. (Described here on my website, and discussed in my last newsletter). But, I'm an octagenarian; it’s time to move on and let the next generation take over.
What that means: I’ll be taking down colorstylePDX.com and creatingjoyfulspaces.com by Jan. 1, 2024, so if you want to mine their extensive blog posts, do it this fall. And if you’ve postponed making a color analysis appointment for you or a loved one, book sooner than later.
Alive! with Joy (this newsletter) isn’t going away, but topics will be whatever’s top of mind—probably some excerpts from the book, and as always I'm looking for beauty and aliveness in the present moment, even when it sucks. [Like it does right now with the Orange Menace raging and the morally bankrupt Republican party’s governing principle is obstruct obstruct obstruct. I mean: the party touting military strength...yet Senator Tuberville blocks all appointments to our military’s top leaders! The impending government shutdown is bad for the economy, bad for workers, bad for travellers, bad for students. And it’s bad for me—when I’m in DC next week none of the museums and landmarks I was so looking forward to visiting will be closed.] End of this week's rant.
My other writing project will be postcards to get out the vote for important state elections across the country. I believe American democracy is in serious danger from the far right. In many states the GOP has gerrymandered and/or made it very hard for Black people and young people to vote, so progressive candidates have to work doubly hard to get elected. I invite you to join me at Vote Forward or TurnOutPac.org. We write every week.
Thank you for being here. I love hearing from you and always welcome your feedback… just reply to this email and I promise to get back to you. And, <<First Name>>, if you decide to unsubscribe I won’t be offended.
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A delightful surprise: A friend spotted this cartoon, which refers to my son Wylie's video, To Scale: The Solar System. He and his partner are signing a development deal with a major production company for a series of these. They so deserve the recognition (and a liveable income...).
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