Artwork by Yukai Du. Hi Friends- My long season of “undoing” continues, but I am looking forward to returning in radiant new form with the podcast and a big new project in the Spring. More on that soon… In honor of Valentine’s day, I wrote you an essay about love, imagination, and joy. Sending warmth,Jocelyn Artwork by Yukai Du. Let's Make Love Cool Again—Wherein I talk about why love needs a rebrand, how imagining bad futures creates bad futures, inspiring words from AOC, and the true source...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hi Friends- There is a lot going on. In every direction direction I look — at what is unfolding on a socio-political level and the fear and uncertainty that is being deliberately incited at what is unfolding within the lives of those close to me & the very real daily struggles that they are working with at what is unfolding within my own psyche and my own heart — there is a lot going on. And for better or worse, I think that’s going to be the mood of 2025 — a lot of alot-ness. So I was...
about 2 months ago • 8 min read
Wise Trees series: Mesquite. Hi Friends- As with so many of us, my thoughts and prayers have been with the inhabitants of Los Angeles these past few weeks. As I watch the heartbreaking destruction that continues to unfold, I’ve been thinking about a podcast conversation between Pat McCabe and Francis Weller (that I shared in the last issue), where he talks about the importance of “keeping current with our grief” as a vital practice. In my understanding, keeping current with our grief is both...
2 months ago • 9 min read
Scout Cave, near Hurricane, Utah. Hi Friends- It’s good to be back with you! When I originally typed that first line, I accidentally wrote: It’s good to be back with me! Which is funny because this week’s essay is all about remembering who you are. This Fall, I spent two months on the road in the Southwest with my dog, stripping down to the basics and camping out of my Jeep. It was a transformative journey, and a month on from returning, I am only just beginning to come into awareness of all...
3 months ago • 7 min read
Pablo, straight and narrow. Hi Friends- How are you (un)doing? A warm welcome to those of you who are new to this newsletter. If you are wondering why you haven’t been receiving much from me, it’s because I’ve been on an extended journey of undoing this summer — taking a pause from releasing and offering. And as I occupy this unusual state of fallowness, I’ve been sitting with the many layers of myself that are deeply attached to doing, to knowing, and — especially — to knowing what I’m...
7 months ago • 8 min read
Deep dog thoughts at Acadia National Park. Hi Friends- I’ve been talking about gestation, frustration, and unnaturally long cycles of trying to understand the path forward for many months now. The cycle looks something like this: Phase I: I don’t know what I’m doing (gestation, faith, patience) Phase II: Okay, I think I know what I’m doing (mild clarity, beginning to plan & take action) Phase III: Wait a minute, do I know what I’m doing?? (pause, reflect & gestate still more) Phase IV: I know...
9 months ago • 3 min read
Artwork by Pavel Mishkin, see the animated gifs here. Hi Friends- This opening will be short and sweet because I’m on retreat. 😌 But I’ll share one small seed — a concept from Gary Nabhan that I discovered in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass. Restoration = Re-story-ation What a beautiful idea, that the restoration of anything — your peace of mind, for example, or the vitality of our Earth — depends upon learning how to tell ourselves new stories. This idea feels very resonant as...
10 months ago • 9 min read
Artwork by Poulina Bogatskaya. Hi Friends- I’ve been thinking about teachers lately, and that’s the subject of this week’s essay: “Expanding the Aperture of Your Curiosity.” One of my great teachers has been the writer E.F. Schumacher and his book Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered. Schumacher talks about the power of ideas, and how they serve as instruments for our thinking — how we think with and through them, so much so that we cannot think outside of them. How culture...
10 months ago • 10 min read
Artwork by Amaury Filho. Hi Friends- After much gestation, I feel the seeds of knowing-my-direction-forward finally sprouting in concert with the tender green leaves on the sugar maples and the fiddlehead ferns slowly unfurling in the forest. Yesterday a pair of deer happily munched on the yellow dandelion caps in my yard, and this morning a majestic turkey vulture flew straight over my head. I am also watching this National Geographic series about the wild intelligence and shapeshifting...
11 months ago • 9 min read