sometimes you gotta let yourself be down in the dumps!

the catharsis of a good cry, contemplating the impossible, and reflection questions for your yearly lookback ❄️

Hello dear reader! Two quick announcements before we dive into this month’s new moon newsletter:

1. Please take my reader survey by Wednesday, December 3rd. You’ll be entered to win a free yearly subscription to my Substack and a signed copy of my poetry book, Gospel of a Whole Sun.

2. I’m teaching a virtual workshop, “On Becoming The Third Self,” with The Word on Friday, December 6th. We’ll be exploring what your inner artist needs to thrive through guided visualization, embodied writing & reading, and lifestyle design exercises. Learn more & register here.

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“Magic is the mind trying to wrap itself around the impossible.”

—Madame Morrible, played by Michelle Yeoh, in Wicked (2024)

In one week, my partner & I will officially be done with three years of long distance! I can’t believe we made it, living on different continents in criss-crossed time zones with her wild chef schedule. It makes me think of a comment a hiring manager said when I was interviewing for a job at an art museum. She was explaining that they require 3 days per week in the office, because "trying to build company culture virtually is impossible. It’s like a long distance relationship. You can maybe maintain a long distance relationship, but you certainly can’t build it.”

I remember glancing down at my wedding ring—Jocelyn and I had just gotten married in Copenhagen, after two+ years of building a beautiful & loving relationship living on different sides of the globe from the jump.