On this Saturday in June

Before we begin…

What are you reading right now? How did you spend or will you be spending this Saturday in June?

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On this Saturday in June…

…I am unable to write something new this week. Scratch that. I am able. I choose not to write something new this week. There, I said it. I am taking responsibility for a decision that has been very hard to make. I have topics, ideas, half-written essays but I do not have the bandwidth this week to tackle any of them.

I need more time this week to take care of myself, my family, my novel, and to be strong enough to show up with the thousands of others who are hoping to draw attention away from the tanks on Washington D.C.’s streets on this day, and direct it towards those who are working peacefully and persistently in defiance of autocratic rule.

I do not, however, come to you entirely empty-handed. Here, for example, is an excellent essay by Spark subscriber and author of The Therapy Room, Dr Vicki Connop who somehow understood why I was having trouble sitting still with my issues this week (and, let’s face it, for a lot of weeks now) and wrote about things I could do instead that actually help reduce my anxiety.

You may also need to read this Prayer Upon Checking One’s Cellphone in the Morning by Shalom Auslander which may, or may not, cure you of reading your cellphone in the morning but will make you laugh.

There are also these posts from past issues of Spark that may resonate on this particular Saturday in June.

• For those reading about what’s been happening in Los Angeles this week, there is Hiding in history, a look at a novel, Dispossessed, about the forced migration of Mexican Americans in the thirties and a Q&A with its author, Desiree Zamorano.

• Compliance, defiance, resilience looks at the book, Defy: The power of no in a world that demands yes, by Dr. Sunita Sah, and the work of three remarkable women living that out in their work and private lives.

• Feeding the beast: we are what we let in – writing that helps us feed the good wolves inside us and live how we believe we should live.

And for those looking for the kinds of enduring reads that Carol Shields provides, here’s a post celebrating her writing and her birthday which falls in June.

Thank you for being here.

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Ciao for now!

Gratefully yours,

Betsy

P.S. And now, your moment of Zen…sometimes a photo doesn’t tell the story

This moment of Zen was caught by subscriber Tom S. Sometimes a photo doesn’t tell the story.

Calling for Your Contribution to “Moment of Zen”:

What is YOUR moment of Zen? Send me your photos, a video, a drawing, a song, a poem, or anything with a visual that moved you, thrilled you, calmed you. Or just cracked you up. This feature is wide open for your own personal interpretation.

Come on, go through your photos, your memories or just keep your eyes and ears to the ground and then share. Send your photos/links, etc. to me by replying to this email or simply by sending to: elizabethmarro@substack.com. The main guidelines are probably already obvious: don’t hurt anyone -- don’t send anything that violates the privacy of someone you love or even someone you hate, don’t send anything divisive, or aimed at disparaging others. Our Zen moments are to help us connect, to bond, to learn, to wonder, to share -- to escape the world for a little bit and return refreshed.

I can’t wait to see what you send!

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