#5: Little Things To Inspire You This Week

It's the Sunday roundup!

• A League of Their Own on Amazon Prime. I resisted this as a huge fan of the original. It’s impossible to top Geena Davis. And nobody in this gets close to it. But, the TV show uses the world of the film to create a new story with fresh & exciting characters. I’m only one episode in, but I thought the pilot was excellent.

• Bodies, Bodies, Bodies on the big screen. Another wonderfully queer, female fronted production. Its simplicity is inspiring: 8 characters, 1 location, 1 excellent joke that ties it all together. However, I’m offering a rare criticism in this section (hey, that can have value!): This felt like it was made to fit an algorithm of This Will Be Popular. It works, and it’s a strength of it, too — it’s sleek, fun pop. But so much content feels like this now. It’s why Everything Everywhere All At Once was so exciting! What a relief to see something made not for an audience, but rather because the creator feels called to tell a story in a way that is authentic to their own voice.

• One show I am truly adoring is I Love That For You on Showtime. It feels like it was made with every ounce of joy in Vanessa Bayer’s body, and that passion jumps off the screen and into my heart.

• Last night I saw Macbeth at Shakespeare In The Park in LA. It was so wonderful! Check your local community to see if there’s a similar free summer production! Fun story: A group of teens ran into bushes nearby to yell “Shakespeare is a f#cking b*tch” in the middle of a dramatic scene. My partner and I laughed way too much about it.

Are you watching anything that’s inspiring you? I want to hear about it!

Books:

• Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez: I haven’t finished this yet, but so far it’s my favorite book I’ve read since My Year of Rest & Relaxation in April. The writing is beautiful and funny, I’m learning a lot, I care about the characters, and I can’t put it down.

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: This is free on Audible, just 4 hours, and masterfully read by Jeremy Irons. I’m sure this book would’ve changed my life if I read it when I was younger. At this point, I’ve explored most of its themes on my own, but it was still a lovely listen.

Articles:

• If you find yourself repeatedly searching for an answer, maybe you need to change the question.

• Love it or hate it, remote work is here to stay.

• And speaking of working from home, if you have my level of wanderlust, you might wonder why you're still at home instead of sending your emails from Lisbon or Bali or Buenos Aires. As the world shifts, there are more digital nomads than ever… could you ever join them on… Zoom Island?

• We live in an era of body positivity, yet we are still obsessed with skin. “Instagram face” leads people to plastic surgery, Botox is now a normal part of skincare routines… So, why skin is the forgotten frontier of the beauty acceptance movement? I like this extended interview on the Unpublishable, too.

~bonus section this week~ WHAT I’M LISTENING TO!

• A couple podcasts that may resonate:

What are you reading or listening to? Share your recs!!

Kristin Merrilees @kristnmerrilees

when you get sent tiktoks to watch it’s like friend homework

What are your characters’ coping mechanisms for dealing with their problems, and what would actual growth mean to them? How can you create coping mechanisms that distance them from true growth?

For example, Olivia Pope’s self-care is pouring massive amounts of red wine when she gets home. However, actually caring for herself would be saying no to a relationship that isn’t serving her. By numbing herself every night, she can convince herself she can go on like this a little bit longer each day.

Make sure to show the audience how your characters are personally coping with the obstacles they face, and be consistent. If they face pain with humor, let’s see that consistently happening every time they’re in pain.

• Tree Pose is my favorite Yoga pose. It’s a balancing posture, which requires deep focus. Paying such close attention demands staying present and connecting to your breath, two things I desperately need in order to feel centered and calm. A few moments in Tree Pose returns me to my body, and into the present moment. Here are instructions on the pose, and a description of its benefits.

We already talked about our characters coping mechanisms vs. actual self-care. Now let’s discuss our own:

"Self-care is the constant practice of not letting more pain accumulate. It is about continually remembering that our lives are of value. It is the active process of settling our nervous systems so that we have more access to the present moment."

- Susan Raffo

Learning to take care of myself has been the hardest but most rewarding part of my life. I don’t think I learned how to truly do this until COVID hit, I lost my routine, and I found myself with no idea what to do without a job.

I grew to learn that taking care of myself was not wine or TV or working non-stop, but releasing myself from unnecessary pain. It’s settling my nervous system through Yoga, breathwork, meditation, or another form of true relaxation — and returning to the present moment. That’s why I love Susan’s quote above. So with all that being said…

• How do you take care of yourself? Is this something you invest in daily, or something you’re still working on?

Meet me in the comments to discuss. Or, use this question as a journaling prompt instead!

That’s all for the roundup! May you all start your week feeling grounded, centered, and free.

Xo,

Ali

PS — I just signed up for The Sample. If you’re a newsletter fanatic like me, you might like it, too. It sends you articles from random newsletters that match up with your interests. When you get one you like, you can subscribe. If that sounds interesting to you, you can sign up here! If you have your own newsletter, you can also upload it to The Sample using that link.

PSS — I just finalized plans for the next Write & Flow retreat and I’M SO EXCITED!! I’ll announce it here within the next few weeks :)