From My Inbox: Narratives

What is the story we tell ourselves….hold onto, defend, benefit from and use as a feeble armor against the certainty of change?

Whoa.

I know! I know! A bit of a serious start to this week’s From My Inbox, however I had a little epiphany that personal narrative was forming into a theme this week….all the while listening to a podcast about Julian of Norwich, while at the same time, sipping tea and purging the trappings of how I formerly defined my self-worth - aka closet cleaning…which is also an excellent reminder that revelations may come to us at any moment…not just in the shower or during a meditative walk or…

Now, on to 💩 from my inbox:

• Two ways to defend the status quo (Seth’s Blog)
• Narratives are hard to change. 1948 (The Daily)
• Did You Hear What I Said? How to Listen Better (HBR)
• Psychologist and Meditation Teacher Tara Brach Shares 3 Practices to Strengthen Our Sense of Collective Belonging in These Terrifying Times (Sunday Paper)

Writing is an act of mindfulness for me.

• What We Know in the “Marrow of Our Bones” (On Being)
• There are more Pauls than women on this year’s Booker Prize shortlist (Women’s Agenda)
• 3 tips to become a better writer. (Dan Pink)
• Spitting into a tube, sending it off, adding your spit to a vast, burgeoning database containing the DNA of many other curious spitters…perhaps you’ve done this already or are contemplating sending your salvia off, seeking answers or amusement…either way (or if you’re simply a curious human with a need for answers), I recommend The Gift on episodic podcast on BBC Sounds.
• How do you make a paper plane…with bourbon? Find out in this edition of the weekly Supper Club newsletter courtesy of The Nucleus Group.

And as for the Julian of Norwich podcast….it’s one of the In Our Times conversations (yes, yet another BBC podcast I have a tendency to geek out on).

+ from my friends over at Boss Molly Bourbon (a terrific premium bourbon BTW, created by 3 badass female founders), here’s the recipe for their very yummy Old Fashioned (which yes, I am rather partial to):

Spiced Pecan Old Fashioned

• 2 oz Boss Molly Bourbon
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 2 dashes Orange Bitters
• 1/4 oz Spiced Pecan Syrup***
• Orange peelStir syrup, bitters, and bourbon in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled rocks glass. Garnish with orange peel.
  
  ***Spiced Pecan Syrup: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup toasted pecans, & 1 cinnamon stick over high heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 mins. Strain and refrigerate.