EEDA Newsletter Vol 6, Res 12: Cooking Can Be Good for You & We Need Your Art
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
10:12 pm Pacific, Thursday: It is past my bedtime but I am compelled to write this note. In the time between writing the below newsletter and right now, the UK has legally said that trans women aren’t women. This was openly bankrolled by the author of Harry Potter and if you are here and still giving money to that woman, please see yourself out. Harry Potter isn’t even good—but that’s a subject for another time. Also, RFK Jr has shit directly and loudly on people with autism. I don’t know who convinced a man that sounds like a dial-up modem that we want to hear his shitty opinions but yet again, here we are. This week’s issue does not have resources for either of these things because I wrote it days ago; however, in the past 6+ years of archives of this newsletter, you will find an abundance of resources by searching the archives. In the meantime, make sure you’re sending love to your trans women friends and your neurodivergent friends.
Hi friends! Well, I’ve started with a new therapist and I think we’re a good fit. Only one session in and I’ve already had and received a couple insights that put the past 25 years into perspective. Yikes? Thanks? Also, I got a rejection! I submitted an essay to a publication and it was rejected. I was a bit bothered at first, but my very wise wife pointed out that since this is my second rejection from the same outfit that perhaps it is not the right place for my work. I’ve already shaken off the turndown and have other creative endeavors on the horizon.
New EEDA Pod episode this week: Facing Feelings: Embracing Big Emotions with Curiosity
In this episode of "Enthusiastic Encouragement and Dubious Advice," Patricia and Nicole recount their recent trip to New York City, where they celebrated Patricia's birthday by seeing a couple musicals and spending quality time with old friends. They also discuss the importance of embracing and understanding one’s own emotions, despite the discomfort or societal pressures to suppress them. The hosts wrap up by sharing personal reflections on what has been fulfilling for them lately and encourage listeners to support the podcast through ratings, reviews, sharing, and Patreon.
There is also a special announcement about the mysterious top tier of Patreon!
You can find our show, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also support the show on Patreon, where we have some perks for paid subscribers with even more coming this year.
It’s another resource week so let’s get to it!
Resource 1: Three Ways Cooking Is Good for Your Well-Being via Greater Good Science Center
Your mileage may vary with this article. While I found it incredibly helpful, I recognize that I generally enjoy cooking and that I have a positive relationship with food. This article may not resonate with folks who have to cook for picky eaters, who have small children, who are caregivers, who have limited bandwidth, or who simply do not like cooking or do not know how (and have no interest in learning). Do I feel like cooking all the time? No. But I can say that I love cooking for people and I love sharing a meal. Nicole and I always eat dinner together at the table and this is important to me. I may be reading and Nicole may be scrolling her phone (we try not to, but it happens sometimes), but sharing a meal is one of our rituals of connection.
Resource 2: We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something by Amie McNee
This is is a new release that might just be the kick in the pants many of us need. The author is the creative behind the incredibly popular InspiredToWrite Instagram account, an account that has given its over 480,000 followers small but firm nudges to get off our asses and make art. This is not just about art like painting or drawing but anything from writing to ceramics to sewing—any and all art.
Amie McNee is a writer and creative coach and this book she has written is such a gift to all of us. So often, books on creative advice whether that be writing or otherwise rarely apply to many people. These books are often just what has worked for that writer specifically. This book, however, pushes the boundaries of what creative advice can be and I find that I can apply what they have written to anything from writing to playing piano to baking something beautiful.
The InspiredToWrite Instagram account’s primary style of posting is of handwritten or painted signs with text that is of the creative advice and inspiration flavor. Similar images are featured every few pages in this book, which offers the delightful feature of being able to pick up this book at any time and flipping through the pages to get a jolt of inspiration.
In addition to telling you why the world needs your art, McNee offers a two-week creative reset plan that is incredibly accessible. This is not for you to write an entire novel or play in two weeks or anything like that. This is a plan to help jump-start your creative habit, something that can be incredibly difficult to do for many reasons (which McNee also writes about). Finding that onramp and getting unstuck can be the hardest part of making art but making excuses is easy. This reset plan is focused on very small sustainable bits of creativity that help avoid burnout while cultivating a consistent creative habit. This book also contains plenty of advice beyond that reset on building an abundant creative practice, which I deeply appreciate. She helps you get going, helps you continue, and helps you finish projects.
The author writes in detail about some of the major blocks that people can run into, like procrastination, burnout, perfection, jealousy, and comparison. They deeply recognize that starting and continuing a creative habit can be difficult for so many reasons, so they gently and purposefully hold the hands of readers in a way that really makes a reader feel like this is all within their reach.
Recent & Current Reads
Inclusion of a book in this section is not necessarily a recommendation and these books won’t necessarily be added to my Bookshop. Links are affiliate links.
Recently Read:
Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong (out 4/22)
The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built by Jack Viertel
Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory
Currently Reading:
Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity edited by Lee Mandelo (out 5/27)
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.