Toxic People + Tough Topics + Imposters + Everyday People

Short work weeks -- or extended weekends, however you want to look at them -- always throw me for a loop, so I'm glad to be back on the typical M-F/S/S cadence. This week's return to a standard rhythm of life got me thinking a lot about the simple privileges that can easily be taken for granted, maybe even go unrealized if we don't intentionally reflect upon them. 

The word privilege always reminds me of a story song by Utah Phillips and Annie DiFranco. There's a great line that talks about how pacifism isn't just giving up "guns and knives and clubs and fists and angry words, but giving up the weapons of privilege and going into the world completely disarmed." I'm trying to disarm myself from a lot of late -- of impatience and expectations in particular -- and to replace those privileges with understanding and empathy. A few of the things that rally triggered reflection for me this week were:

Reading - a piece by John Pavlovitz that I stumbled on a few weeks ago. It's called How Do You Love Toxic People? and is an except from his book If God Is Love, Don't Be A Jerk. There's a powerful idea here that we don't have to give proximity, power, and influence to people we love. In some cases, we don't even have to give them attention. Pavlovitz proposes that we can love people, and if the differences between us become too much to bare, then moving on or stepping away is actually an act of love in and of itself. 

Watching - the Apple+ series The Problem with Jon Stewart. I was turned onto this by some work my friend has been doing to pass some very cool legislation around Veterans and burn pits called the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. Stewart made this issue the first topic he tackled on his new talk show. In the series' eighth episode, Jon Stewart tackles the issue of racism in America and the ongoing reverberations of historical structure our country built. Humor sure has a great way of disarming us in order to expose a deeper truth. 

Listening - to a relatively new Podcast called Imposters. No matter who you talk to or what they've accomplished, almost everyone seems to suffer from imposter syndrome at some point. This pod is intended to wade through those stories of self-doubt and success with some pretty incredible people. I've only been through a few portions of a few episodes, but I find the honesty of these interviews very refreshing in a world full of Instaworthy posturing. It's a great reminder that everyday people go on to do amazing things, and all of us are everyday people. 

Weekly gig - while you may have been expecting a Sly & the Family Stone or an Arrested Development (take your "Everyday People" pick) show from this section, I'm going to bounce all the way back to the top and link to the full Ani DiFranco & Utah Phillips collaboration The Past Didn't Go Anywhere. It's not a concert, but I hope you enjoy streaming the music and stories all the same. 

Have a nontoxic week, in all the ways possible.