Cruel Compendium #88 🦢

What's the best that could happen?

Greetings from South Congress, one of Austin’s main streets, on a recent weekday morning. 🤠

ICYMI, I wrote about my intensive input week, which turned out to be the most creative week of my year (so far). Something Jade Chang said during their Ideas Intensive workshop has stuck with me:

"If you don't work on your dreams, someone will hire you to work on theirs."

In my input era

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On to the links!

It’s foolish to pursue a passion by

Jade Fabello

What are the birds and moon whispering about? by

Kelcey Ervick

Lately I’ve been coming back to one question that helps me supersede my small, observed “reality”: What does my heart most want?

All of life works if enough of us protect it by Carvell Wallace

Try imagining that there is no end. There is just action and counter action. There is just protecting life and love and/or destroying life and love. That’s it. Once you are relieved from the feeling that you are going to figure out how to vanquish your enemy, then a whole new world of possibilities opens up to you. You don’t have to be discouraged thinking “this won’t work, that won’t work.” because it won’t defeat the bad guys once and for all. Nothing will.

The point is that everything works if you do it. All of life works if enough of us protect it. That’s the one thing I’ll never be cynical enough to stop believing.

Stoop coffee: How a simple idea transformed my neighborhood by

Patty Smith

Pro-quality of life is > pro-natalism by

Hitha Palepu

Bits and bobs about freelance writing.

• Should I get a full-time job? by

  Jenni Gritters

  • Jenni asks you to ask yourself: “What does my body know about the next best steps for my career, and how can I honor that through daily actions?”\

• A plan to get out of the woods by

  Kelton Wright

• Why the art of the story pitch starts with getting lost (or naked) by Elaine Appleton Grant

• Ready to read The Artist’s Way — for real this time?

  • Catherine Andrews
    is hosting the Imperfect Artist’s Way beginning May 11

  • Chelsey Pippin Mizzi
    is hosting the Tarot Artist’s Way beginning May 11

• I love Mandy Ellis’ newsletter for freelance writers, and her 7-Day Unskippable Email Course promises to “turn biz pains and plateaus into client gains and dough” in one week. She knows her stuff.

• ICYMI: Here’s my new and improved, FREE list of 142 of my favorite tools and resources for freelancers

Causes I care about and actions for change

• How US citizens can legally help if they witness an ICE arrest

• What does the global arms race mean for climate action?

• Donate to your local abortion fund

• ICYMI, I’ll be donating 5% of my gross income to an org of my choice that I’ll publicize here monthly. This month, I donated to Gaza Orphanage. I invite you to donate as well.

jnaydaily

A post shared by @jnaydaily

Today, ask yourself:

“What’s the best that could happen?”

kiracyan.design

A post shared by @kiracyan.design

cilantro_pig

A post shared by @cilantro_pig

• 🎓 Can’t recommend Big Boys on Hulu enough. It’s a story of four UK university students around 2014 making their way through coming out, hooking up, grieving, dealing with mental illness and shitty parents, discovering themselves, and being incredible friends to each other — all inspired by creator Jack Rooke’s real experiences. I cried a lot through the final episode, but laughed a lot through all the others.

• ❤️‍🔥 I am ripping through Notes to John, Joan Didion’s new book compiling her notes from years of therapy. Totally enthralling.

• 📅 It’s a new month; try

  Liz Tran
  ’s month map

• 📚 The 30 best fiction books of the last 30 years from the LA Times

• 🧜🏼‍♀️ Feast your eyes on

  Edith Zimmerman
  ’s first New Yorker cartoon!

• 🔮 Four necessary spells for These Times by

  Catherine Andrews

• 🌎 What’s the best thing I can do for the planet?

• ⛔ The True Cost of Ownership: Why I Just Say No to free stuff by

  Rebecca | Your House Machine

• 🙅🏻‍♀️ How I broke up with Amazon: A Practical Guide by

  Brittany Viklund

• 🎤 Have watched this freestyle rap about Pokémon cards dozens of times

• 🏠 What you clicked on most in the last Compendium: 12 women on living alone

@henrytavikDrifting through summer days.

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Support for the week ahead from your higher self.

How can I tune in to what my heart most wants?

Five of Swords
Conflict, self-interest, survival mode

What am I willing to fight for? Which battles do I need to choose now? How can I best stand up for myself and what I most care about? Where do I need to close myself off to outside energy and opinions, and focus on my own?

Then how can I take action?

The Chariot
Victory, willpower, determination

Eyes on the prize! You have chosen your path, and you’re ready to trailblaze. You’re in complete control, so trust yourself implicitly — and say no to any and all distractions along the way. Make a plan and trust yourself to follow it.

What is my guiding light?

Judgment reversed
Doubts, self-judgment, overcritical

The only thing that can stop you achieving your goal are you and your ego. The only box you’re in is the one you place yourself inside. Release your self-judgment and let yourself play, experiment, and even fail. Keep making time to check in with your inner voice — the real one, not your inner critic — to gain reassurance you are on the right path.