The possibilities being offered

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"You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope." - Thomas Merton

A notebook about how we work, learn, love and live.

When a major political party intentionally and expertly uses disinformation and lies to divide us, it is hard not to feel fearful. Yet as Thomas Merton taught, "Fear narrows the little entrance of our heart. It shrinks up our capacity to love. It freezes up our power to give ourselves."

He defined courage as adherence to our deepest principles, even in the face of fear, uncertainty, or adversity. He emphasized that faith requires a willingness to live with uncertainty, doubt, and paradox, because true faith is not about certainty but about trust. And for him hope is not mere optimism or wishful thinking, it is a profound trust in the ultimate power we find in love, in communion with each other.

I like how he tied challenges to possibilities. We are such a complicated and miraculous species. We have such an enormous capacity for ingenuity and creativity, and we have so much to learn.

Happy Friday.

Civics, Democracy
The full realization of democracy is rooted in our psychological experience as individuals.

This week the always insightful Maria Popova posted an article that speaks to the societal tension that we are experiencing in America today. She cites an essay written in 1958 by the "reliably revelatory pediatrician turned psychiatrist Donald Winnicott (April 7, 1896–January 28, 1971)." In it he investigates democracy not as a political but as a psychological phenomenon.

"The essence of democratic machinery is the free vote (secret ballot)," says Winnicott. "The point of this is that it ensures the freedom of the people to express deep feelings, apart from conscious thoughts. In the exercise of the secret vote, the whole responsibility for action is taken by the individual, if he is healthy enough to take it. The vote expresses the outcome of the struggle within himself, the external scene having been internalized and so brought into association with the interplay of forces in his own personal inner world. That is to say, the decision as to which way to vote is the expression of a solution of a struggle within himself."

A healthy democracy is dependent on "sufficient maturity in the emotional development of a sufficient proportion of the individuals that comprise it for there to exist an innate tendency towards the creation and re-creation and maintenance of the democratic machinery."

He goes on to describe those without such maturity as antisocial. Then he asks "What proportion of antisocial individuals can a society contain without submergence of innate democratic tendency?"

By Winnicott's estimation the creation of the necessary “innate democratic factor” begins with “the ordinary man and woman, and the ordinary, common-place home." It is the work of parenting. And this is just the second time Americans can vote for a female presidential candidate. Yet 66 years ago he wrote: "In psychoanalytical and allied work it is found that all individuals (men and women) have in reserve a certain fear of WOMAN."

Article: Winnicott on the Psychology of Democracy, the Most Dangerous Type of Person, and the Unconscious Root of Resisting Women Leaders

Civics, Leadership
Why should we help those we compete with? Because we want to live in a resilient society and have a thriving economy.

Harold Jarche does not want to live in a "stupid society".

If a healthy democracy is dependent on psychologically healthy citizens, then in a networked society one of the obvious strategies for good leaders is to help make the network smarter, more resilient, and able to make better decisions.

Workplace collaboration consultant, Harold Jarche, made the point eloquently in a blog post this week. "Making our networks stupid drags us all down a slippery slope," he said. "Today, while politicians and pundits spread disinformation and conspiracy theories about climate change and hurricanes, people (died) in Florida as a result of Hurricane Milton.

"I do not want to live in a stupid society but it seems this may become the new normal. If stupidity is natural then those with the privilege of leadership must step up. Cooperation is the imperative to work against the influence of propaganda, now fueled by generative AI. Cooperation is giving freely of what good knowledge and experience we have and not expecting anything in return. Misinformation is often free while solid science is frequently hidden behind a paywall. Making the network smarter is not just sharing facts. We need more powerful narratives. As I noted in constant doubt and outrage, medical researchers Kathryn Perera et al., advised to, 'never bring a fact to a narrative fight'”.

Blog Post: Sowing Good Seeds

Civics, Social Systems
How to nurture a fairer, happier, more secure, and less stressful society for ourselves and our children.

Anu Partanen debunks criticism that Nordic countries are socialist “nanny states,” revealing instead that it is we Americans who are far more enmeshed in unhealthy dependencies than we realize.

In 2008 Finnish journalist, Anu Partanen, married an America and moved to the U.S.. In her country of birth she had been a confident and self-directed professional. She was dumfounded that in her adopted home she felt like a self-doubting mess. As she got to know other Americans she discovered that they also shared her deep anxiety and apprehension. Being a journalist she took a close look at why.

She wrote a book, In The Nordic Theory of Everything. In it she examined the similarities and differences of life in the two countries. She focused on four principal relationships—parents and children, men and women, employees and employers, and government and citizens. Her biggest takeaway is that in spite of claims to the contrary, the Nordic approach—in which the national government, rather than private employers, play a central role in providing their citizens with the essentials of civilized life—allows citizens to enjoy more individual freedom and independence than we do.

Book Review: ‘The Nordic Theory of Everything’: Northward For a Better Life

Learning, Museums
This summer a new visitor center opened across the street from Louis and Lucille Armstrong’s two-story house in Corona, Queens.

The Louis Armstrong Center showcases rotating exhibitions, a 60,000-piece archive, and a performance venue.

"In 1943 the great American jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong and his wife, Lucille, settled into what would be the last residence they shared: a two-story house in the New York neighborhood of Corona, Queens. As one of the world’s most famous musicians, Armstrong could have lived anywhere but he made 107th Street his home, and practiced there every day until he died in 1971.

"That house became a National and New York Historic Landmark, thanks to the efforts of Lucille. And thanks to Caples Jefferson Architects, a new, 14,000-square-foot visitor center opened this summer across the street, forming a kind of institutional duet. 'Armstrong’s music didn’t come out of some fancy place,' says principal Sara Caples. 'It came out of a deep tradition, a brilliant tradition, but very much part of a working person’s tradition.' The new Louis Armstrong Center also eschews fanciful gestures while staying in the pocket of the block. Its forecourt welcomes in the neighborhood, while its faceted facade embeds metal fins like music staffs even as the glazing appears to swing." - Jesse Dorris

Article: Caples Jefferson Architects’ Louis Armstrong Museum Shines in Queens

Communications, Illustration
"I believe my illustration practice lies at the intersection of art and design."

"Through my work, I explore grey areas of societal expectations, adding vibrancy and warmth to digital and analogue mediums." - Noopur Choksi

Noopur Choksi calls illustration "a process of dissection and discovery, exploring vulnerabilities and fragilities as transformative experiences...".

"Central to her art is a commitment to social dialogue and cultural shaping, confronting themes of self-perception, gender, and power dynamics. She challenges regressive norms and society-imposed stereotypes, celebrating complexities and promoting inclusivity.

"Music, science, drag, fashion, and narratives of feminine power inspire her work. She strives to create visuals that challenge perception, push boundaries, and are not afraid to be strong, unapologetic, and layered in their interpretations.

"'I like to think of creative expression as a complex human emotion that empowers our ability to experience, introspect, imagine, communicate and make sense of the world,' she explains." - Tom May

Article: Noopur Choksi Shows How Commercial Success and Artistic Integrity Needn't Fight

Civics, Social Messaging
"Creativity can shift immutable systems."

Lorraine O'Grady's Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are (2018) in Springfield, Massachusetts 50 State Initiative Photo: Clifford Pickett and Alyssa Meadows

"A monograph dedicated to artist billboards shown across America in the past few years—some of them bearing political and topical messages—is timely. The organization behind the billboards, For Freedoms, was founded in 2016 by a group of artists including Hank Willis Thomas and Eric Gottesman. A new publication includes 550 artist billboards created between 2016 and 2023, by the likes of the Guerrilla Girls, Lorraine O’Grady, Ai Weiwei and Emily Hanako Momohara." - Gareth Harris

For Freedoms: Where Do We Go From Here?, Hank Willis Thomas and Eric Gottesman and others, Monacelli Press/For Freedoms,

Article: In Pictures | Artist Billboards Across America Tell a Story of US Politics Today

Communications, Advertising
IKEA is using the easily-recognized look and feel of their advertising to solicit help for those hit hardest by the worst flooding Northern Thailand has seen in 30 years

Image via Park Wannasiri / VML Thailand

"In a campaign with heart, the international furniture giant IKEA has launched the Flooded Room initiative, reimagining its pristine showroom spaces as dingy, flooded homes devastated by disaster... From October 1 to 31, 2024, IKEA is teaming up with the Mirror Foundation to collect and distribute furniture to families whose homes have been swept away by the deluge."

"Instead of prices, the brand uses numbers to highlight the stories behind the multi-generational families who occupied these houses and their personal connections to the furniture." - Mikelle Leow

Article: IKEA Showcases Flooded Rooms To Drive Home Emergency In Thailand

One-liners

Article: Some battery-assisted cargo bikes can haul more than 600 pounds of goods, showing the potential to displace many half-empty vans.

Article: 70 percent of New York City's surface is made up of hard material like pavement, which prevent rain from reaching the earth’s soil.

Article: A neurological study has revealed that real works of art in a museum stimulate the brain in a way that is 10 times stronger than looking at a poster.

Article: Listening to music Is therapy; it reduces pain, increases resilience, and reconnects Alzheimer’s patients with their memories. It’s time for science to take it seriously.

Article: The Guerrilla Girls's latest poster explicitly ties feminism to democracy.

Article: Independent bookstores see post-pandemic bump

Playlist

Video: MALTED MILK - Some tears you need to shed - official video

Malted Milk was formed in 1998 in Nantes, in Loire-Atlantique, France. They took their name from a song title by Robert Johnson, and originally performed Delta Blues and Memphis soul as a duo. In the ensuing 25 years they've evolved into a very groovy septet who reinterpret contemporary soul and funk.

This performance was recorded live @ Stereolux in Nantes in 2019 in support of their seventh album, Love, Tears & Guns. Early this year they released their latest LP, titled 1975.

"1975 is a deeply intimate project that tells a selection of stories from the point of view of the band’s lead singer, Arnaud Fradin, exploring societal issues characterised by abuses of power, indifference and concerns surrounding personal freedom.

"The mood of the record swings between clear-headedness, anger and optimism across eight tracks inspired not only by soul and funk but also by more modern genres such as disco and folk, with the album marking a turning point for the group, who are now aiming 'to talk openly about uncomfortable subjects and to honestly reflect their passion for American and pop music'."

Article: Malted Milk | A New Album to Celebrate Their 25-Year Career

Weekly Mixtape
#groove #soul #blues

Playlist: Big Desire

Image of the Week

The Swarm of Life by Shane Gross (Canada)

"This winning image looks under the surface layer of lily pads as a mass of western toad tadpoles swim past. Western toad tadpoles swim up from the safer depths of the lake, dodging predators and trying to reach the shallows, where they can feed. The tadpoles start becoming toads between four and 12 weeks after hatching. An estimated 99% will not survive to adulthood.

"Photograph: Shane Gross/2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year" - The Guardian

Article: Wildlife Photographer of The Year 2024 Winners – In Pictures

What's Love & Work?

Love & Work is the weekly newsletter by me, Mitch Anthony. I help people use their brand - their purpose, values, and stories - as a pedagogy and toolbox for transformation.

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