Hey Foreign Bodies, it’s been a while since I’ve published a thread for us to share a little bit of light with each other. This week has had its fair share of lows, but over the weekend, I virtually met with a few readers for Roxane Gay’s new book club to discuss Black Futures, a time-capsule-like anthology of Black art, writing, and other creative work, edited by writer Jenna Wortham and curator Kimberly Drew. There’s a specific poem, “regular black,” by Danez Smith that I haven’t been able to shake. A couple of years ago, after reading Chanel Miller’s Know My Name, I got hung up on a metaphor she used in her gorgeous memoir, which actually inspired this essay I wrote. And if you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you know I regularly console myself with this phrase from Bassey Ikpi’s collection, I'm Telling the Truth, but I'm Lying: “Allow yourself morning.”
Last year, during a callout for book recommendations, I briefly mentioned how reading offers multiple health benefits and is especially helpful in alleviating stress, boosting brain strength and alleviating some mild symptoms of anxiety and depression. But this week, I’m curious about why certain words and phrases and poems and stories linger in our minds and hearts long after we read them and how those words might shape our character and well-being moving forward.
What’s something you’ve read or heard that’s stuck with you since you first read or heard them? Have the words moved you forward or shaped you in any way? How? Share in the comments if you can!
Oh So many! Amanda Gorman on inauguration day recently of course has been on my mind and given some unexpected hope. It is not just her wonder and wisdom but her the representation of a future and youth that refuses to back down from injustice. I saved the mp4 on my phone and have listened to it at least5x! Maybe it caught me off guard, I just did not expect to be moved so much so quickly. It has just made me less cynical maybe.
Oh yes, she blew me away, too. I think it's really wonderful how her words helped soften that cynicism, which from what I've read is quite harmful to mental health in general, especially when it's detached from effective social action (common during a pandemic like this where we're unable to really quantify success while holding so much grief).
I've been thinking a lot about homes away from home and what will be the place I make my home because I want to make it my home. I came across Naguib Mahfouz's quote recently "Home is where all your attempts to escape cease." And now I'm thinking about all the places I've ceased to escape...if any at all.
Oh wow. Thank you for sharing this. I have never quite figured out home, at least not in that sense of place where all attempts to escape cease. A few quiet mornings in Sevilla come to mind, but that's not a very reliable memory.
I love this question! I'm reading this book about dog enrichment that turned out to be really insightful for human behavior too. There's this one passage that talked about something called "immunization training" where you get lots of praise and reward for performing a task in a minimally stressful environment. Then you gradually increase the stressors as your dog (or you) becomes more able to deal with them. This helps build resilience to stress. By the time you've been doing this for a long time, they're able to handle extremely stressful situations. Which is how people are able to do things like neurosurgery without freaking out in the OR!
Umm, share the book! That's fascinating and something I've noticed in training my own pup. Did you by any chance study psychology (or take animal behavior) in college?
I recently read the book Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong, and it really stuck with me. She beautifully described many aspects of the Asian American experience, like feeling invisible, intergenerational trauma, etc.
Oh So many! Amanda Gorman on inauguration day recently of course has been on my mind and given some unexpected hope. It is not just her wonder and wisdom but her the representation of a future and youth that refuses to back down from injustice. I saved the mp4 on my phone and have listened to it at least5x! Maybe it caught me off guard, I just did not expect to be moved so much so quickly. It has just made me less cynical maybe.
Oh yes, she blew me away, too. I think it's really wonderful how her words helped soften that cynicism, which from what I've read is quite harmful to mental health in general, especially when it's detached from effective social action (common during a pandemic like this where we're unable to really quantify success while holding so much grief).
I've been thinking a lot about homes away from home and what will be the place I make my home because I want to make it my home. I came across Naguib Mahfouz's quote recently "Home is where all your attempts to escape cease." And now I'm thinking about all the places I've ceased to escape...if any at all.
Oh wow. Thank you for sharing this. I have never quite figured out home, at least not in that sense of place where all attempts to escape cease. A few quiet mornings in Sevilla come to mind, but that's not a very reliable memory.
I love this question! I'm reading this book about dog enrichment that turned out to be really insightful for human behavior too. There's this one passage that talked about something called "immunization training" where you get lots of praise and reward for performing a task in a minimally stressful environment. Then you gradually increase the stressors as your dog (or you) becomes more able to deal with them. This helps build resilience to stress. By the time you've been doing this for a long time, they're able to handle extremely stressful situations. Which is how people are able to do things like neurosurgery without freaking out in the OR!
Umm, share the book! That's fascinating and something I've noticed in training my own pup. Did you by any chance study psychology (or take animal behavior) in college?
I did not, but wish I would have. The human brain (and the dog brain too!) are fascinating to me. The book is called "Canine Enrichment for the Real World." Here is a link to it: https://www.dogwise.com/canine-enrichment-for-the-real-world/
10/10 would recommend!
I recently read the book Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong, and it really stuck with me. She beautifully described many aspects of the Asian American experience, like feeling invisible, intergenerational trauma, etc.
Ah, I need to read this! It's been on my bookshelf for too long. You're the 10th or 12th person to mention how much it's meant to you.