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Hi friends,
This past week I rewatched the documentary Jane Goodall: The Hope, which I highly recommend.
I want to share this with you because I remember watching this early in the pandemic when everything felt extra dark and it brought me a sense of light.
The chaos and darkness is constant, so I hope if you decide to check this documentary out, it can bring you some light, too.
I’m so moved by the urgency Dr. Jane Goodall lives with and the way she holds onto hope, her endless efforts to bring change, and dedication to inspiring young people to take action.
At 88 years old, she hasn’t given up.
She’s probably had every reason to feel discouraged from her work and activism.
Yet, she’s remained fully committed to her mission.
“And once you take action, once you’re doing something, once you feel, well, it’s my little bit but I’m going to do my little bit and I’ll die easier if I have done my little bit.
Even if it’s no use, I’m going to die trying.”
There’s a lot to learn from the way Dr. Goodall moves in the world.
Though she’s ferociously devoted to making this a better planet, she embodies a powerful softness and lightness.
Perhaps, it will inspire you to adopt a sense of urgency, heart, and hope in your own life and work.
Emotional Labor
As someone who used to work in Special Education, I think about the importance of emotional labor a lot and all the ways it’s often undervalued, but essential.
It crosses my mind when I’m writing or putting together this newsletter.
Without emotional labor, I noticed I feel a sense of betrayal to myself and others.
Here is a passage by Seth Godin on how emotional labor is necessary to make art:
You may not consider yourself an artist, or do work that you feel involves emotional labor, but I think there’s a lot of value in rethinking whatever work you do or want to do and determining how you can bring more humanity to it.
How can you be more of an artist? In what ways can you take more risks?
Creativity and Healing
This talk by Ethan Hawke is one of my favorites.
I love his perspective on how vital creativity is and how expressing ourselves allows us to help others.
But we can’t do any of that unless we know ourselves.
He also mentions how through his own creative work he was able to see that we are all connected.
This makes me think about Dr. Jane Goodall’s work, and how she speaks about the interconnectedness of everything, too.
The video is set at 7:04, but I encourage you to watch the whole video if you have time.
“There is no path until you walk it.”
Start the dialogue. Play the fool.
For Your Ears
After five years, the Montreal band Stars finally released a new album.
It’s called From Capelton Hill and I’ve been playing it on repeat.
They’re masters of upbeat melancholic indie-pop bangers, so if that’s your thing, you’ll love it.
Check out Build A Fire to get a taste.
Call To Action:
There’s a moment during the Jane Goodall documentary that I really love where a young girl shares her mother’s wisdom:
“My mother would say that when you get help, also help three other people.
Then the world will change.”
I would like to ask you all to find a way to be of service to others this week, especially if that’s not something you usually do.
Consider directly helping three people in whatever way that you can.
Do something difficult, take a risk, and extend yourself.
No, this won’t change the world. But it’s easy to forget the importance of looking out for one another as much as we think about and try to look out for ourselves and the difference we can make as individuals.
If you’re familiar with Mister Rogers then you probably already know the quote “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
Be the helpers.
That’s all for issue #7 of Sunday Candy!
Thanks for reading, friends.
Until next week,
Sandra
P.S. What did you think of this week’s issue? Hit reply or leave a comment to let me know what you liked, what resonated, or just take a second to say hi!
I’d love to hear from you :)
Thank you Sandra! Enjoyed every word of it!!
Thanks for this great newsletter. I love Stars!Best live show I’ve ever seen. I already got my tickets for when they come to TX.