I’m reading…
Immortal Diamond by Richard Rohr. If you’re paying attention, you might notice I’ve been reading this book for about a year. I read spiritual books generally in the mornings, when I wake up, while I drink my hot drinks. A lot of times, I’m reading them very slowly - a page or two at a time - and letting the ideas sink in all day. I’m almost finished with this one - about “the search for our true selves” - and thinking of starting this next.
I also just finished The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish (I read fiction at night), and started The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo last night.
I’m watching…
Designated Survivor on Netflix. I used to find shows like this (politics, terrorism, etc) too stressful, but I’m in a good headspace for it right now and am about 2/3 of the way through Season 1.
There’s a point where Kiefer Sutherland’s President Tom Kirkman gives a speech about unity, and he mentions that Abraham Lincoln (and also Bible) quote “a house divided against itself cannot stand”…
I keep thinking about that.
I got some cash for my birthday and I’m trying to figure out how to spend it.
Let’s be honest, it’s probably going to be on skincare. I’m currently considering this gua sha set, and this Skinceuticals C E Ferulic dupe. I’ve run out of my usual Vitamin C serum and my moisturiser, and I recently bought a pot of this cream1 from Aldi just to see how it felt. My review? It’s fine.
Work be workin’.
I recently added a page to the Porchlight menu about how you can work with me, either as a spiritual director or as a copywriter and brand strategist. For a long time, I was embarrassed about the fact that I had more than one job - somewhere along the way, I internalised the message that I should pick one thing and stick to it. But I’m learning to lean into the fact that I’m a multi-hyphenate, and that my expertise and interest in more than one subject actually informs the work I do across the board.
My copywriting and brand strategy website is almost done, but I keep trying to add all the work I’ve done in the last year or so to my portfolio page and I end up just getting annoyed with trying to format things and giving up. For now, just trust me: I’ve worked on some cool projects.
Here’s something I noticed as part of a steep career learning curve in 2023: the creative industry - or at least the part of it I work in - starts “winding down for Christmas” about mid-November. Then, in January, everyone is “catching up after Christmas”. So my work is pretty quiet from mid-November till February. This winter, that was super stressful for me, so I’m hoping and planning to do enough work during my busier months in 2024 to put some money away for my quieter seasons.
LinkedIn is the wild west.
I’ve never really been into LinkedIn. It’s Simon’s territory (he’s generally more profesh than me). But I’ve tried a little harder over there for the last year.
It’s a whole new world. Posts that go viral on LinkedIn are literally like:
“Employees deserve to be treated like humans.”
or
“Productivity requires rest.”
And they get shared 30,000 times.
Guys, are we ok? I honestly didn’t know times in the office were this hard.
Stay human out there.
xx
Faith
The name of this cream makes me really uncomfortable.