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Four Straight Hours of Joy

Words are powerful. Encouragement and praise are two of the most wonderful ways to employ our power. They make the receiver feel good, feel gratified. They help deepen mental pathways we wish to see deepened.

Ephemeral/Ever-Present

I have been thinking about how little time I spend looking at the sky, and by contrast, how much time our ancestors spent gazing up at celestial beings. For my birthday last year, I went out into the countryside where the sky was large.

Lhamo

Yesh, Lhamo, 2023. Produced by @yanling. Mastered by @hesaitix.

Millefleurs

Some days, when I am a blip in the universe, I open the card with its tapestry top.

Rejoicing in Reciprocity

In our times of climate, political, and social crises, we must consider our relationships with the Earth and with/among human and more-than-human communities as marked by deep reciprocity and mutual responsibility for healing and flourishing. Joy and hope flow from rejoicing in this reciprocal relationship with Land. 

Desire, Joy, and Sadness in Spinoza’s P18

Is joyful desire love? And, is all love a joyful desire? Spinoza does “prove,” so to speak, that this type of desire is more powerful, but the question remains of what a joyful desire connotes.

Sympathetic joy

I’ve been collecting words from a book to give legs to thoughts nesting in pages. She’s harvesting rainwater to make bread. Without training the mind first, joy too will be in danger of turning sour to jealousy.

Rhizomatic

after the event there are flowers everywhere

Ride Home

Before my seven-day quarantine at a hotel in Fujian Province, I, along with other passengers, were swallowed by a mother sperm whale named Dōng Fāng东方. She was our ride home.

Instructions: How to Find Joy When Lost

When was last time you whistled, where the wind asked a question? Pull up that memory. With pants and bra that makes you feel like a would-be conqueror, practice walking down hallways.

unpretentious things

What is surrendering yourself completely to unpretentious things like the chair in the corner that invites you to sit down and lean on its back when you are tired.

step right up

daughter of a roller coaster I yell at my niece from the peak “u r an artist u always have been art is a life not a career”

Lhasa City Series

I wouldn't be surprised if Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city, is one of the fastest changing cities in the world. Whenever I go back, I’m astonished to see all the changes. Sometimes I feel as if I can’t recognize my own city.

Reflections on Gratitude

Tibetans typically greet each other with a cheery “Tashi Delek!” Hands together at the heart in a prayerful gesture, they express respect for their fellow creatures. “Tashi Delek” can be translated as “Hello,” “Good luck,” “Congratulations,” or “May all be auspicious!” To my mind, it means, “Congratulations! You are alive!”

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The Brooklyn Rail

APRIL 2023

All Issues