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Furthering

@[email protected]

I love cutting through the small talk and getting down to what matters, including the nuance of lived experience. I'm here to seek out that nuance in a world that wants to oversimplify.

Progressive, anti-LLM, reader, rainforest mind, generalist nerd, immigrant, covid informed, heartfelt communication.

ICF accredited coach focusing on belonging and connection and supporting people to discover and embrace their authentic selves. DM me for a free introductory session.

Bio pic "The Yellow Gloves" by Esther Paterson Gill (1938) and background image "Still Life with Books and Cards" by Roger de La Fresnaye (1913)

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@Furthering@convo.casa avatar Furthering , to random

I had the first lesson of a language class I tested too high into. It was misery except for my conversation partner, who laughed and chatted with me and actually helped me feel relaxed. I'll probably try to switch levels, and I don't know if I'll be able to thank that person for their patience and gentle nature, but I'm putting it here and hope that the good energy will find its way to them.

@Furthering@convo.casa avatar Furthering , to random

I'm between books, which is an uncomfortable feeling.

@Furthering@convo.casa avatar Furthering , to random

A mention of your free event is only helpful if you also include the time zone. A general "7:00 pm" doesn't mean anything without more information.

@Furthering@convo.casa avatar Furthering , to random

Found the notes for the prior interview so I do not have to prepare anew for the one tomorrow. What a beautiful win. I crunched some potato chips in celebration.

@Furthering@convo.casa avatar Furthering , to random

Ahh . . . the nasty transitions between being too cold, then stepping into a too-warm shower, warming up, then having to step out of the shower and having to return to being cold again.

@KatyElphinstone@mas.to avatar KatyElphinstone , to random

Owl! at the library @SketchesbyBoze "No one wants to hear about your special interests--" I do. tell me all about how the Appalachians are older than Saturn's Rings or how the invention of the compass led to the atomic bomb. Life is so brief and the world is so big and we have to learn from each other.
ALT
Furthering ,
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@KatyElphinstone It can be so hard being the most curious person in the room. I feel that in real life, but not on Mastodon. So many special interests, so many people willing to share -- and such a great resource for asking questions in esoteric areas of knowledge.

@Furthering@convo.casa avatar Furthering , to random

Take heart—the lilacs are yours
as much as anyone’s; you need never
audition for spring. What delights
delights in you. What is luminous
beckons, and makes room. Look—
there is this goodness
in you that has no debt
and no end. There is this goodness, though
your goodness is not requisite
to stay your while this side of dirt.
Have you noticed? The stars
do not spell suffering;
there’s no prophecy in that disorder
of infinite dark, no script.
Misery is not your inheritance.
Your hurt in time will soften
like green beneath
the presence of deer.
If belief’s beyond, just be
until it’s here. You’ll see.
The sacred inside
is not extinguished.
Blood is the mother
of blessing and your veins
run hot with God.
Bless your abundance
of unwieldy feeling! Bless
the holiness of the hole
of your need! Bless, too, this absence

of apology. For your tenderness
is what tethers you
to the exquisite
terrors of living, and living’s
all there is. Keep on, keep on.
The smallest voice you have speaks
your most important things.
Are you there?
If you’re listening, I think it’s all right
to take a breath now. If you’re there,
I think it’s all right.

https://www.thegeorgiareview.com/posts/lost-baby-poem-someday-ill-love-leila-chatti/

@Furthering@convo.casa avatar Furthering , to random

When you can't find a matching pair of socks to save your life.

Furthering OP ,
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@MythingPerson 😆

I need to just give up. Most times, nobody sees my socks, anyway.

@bucknam@mastodon.social avatar bucknam , to random

So @vlrny reminded me that our society’s capitalistic weekend-to-weekday ratio is messed up. Humans need all sorts of different schedules, and let’s remember “the workweek” used to be six days long, curtailed to five thanks to unions (✊). But really, the workweek should be whatever we want or need it to be. In an age where people/groups can automagically negotiate common times of availability via shared calendars, why stick to M-F norms if you can’t/don’t want/need to?

Furthering ,
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@bucknam @vlrny Some people actually WANT to go into an office five days a week. I say let them -- and let the rest of us do what we want/what we can and how we want/how we can.

18+ @pockets@lgbtqia.space avatar pockets , to ActuallyAutistic group

I found a shirt that's very texture friendly for me. The problem is that it's a brand that requires me to get it screen-printed to buy, and the minimum order size is 25 units.

Is there something you'd print on 25 shirts?

(Please no silly/just-kidding answers.)
(Yes, all the shirts would have the same printing.)

actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group

Furthering ,
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@pockets actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group

First of all -- congrats! But I feel you in that there's a bit of a catch.

I once saw a printed t-shirt that just had a different colored dot (large) on the front. Unobtrusive, versatile, no meaning that you'd get tired of, and super simple and therefore interesting.

Don't know if you can get different color combos in something like that for some variety, if that's what you like.

@lunalein@federatedfandom.net avatar lunalein , to bookstodon group

What are the best books you've read in the first half of 2025 ?

I read over 100 books so far this year (because I'm out of control) and here are my top 5!

Gliff -- Ali Smith
Woodworking - Emily St James
The Hymn to Dionysus -- Natasha Pulley
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This -- Omar El Akkad
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter -- Stephen Graham Jones

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Furthering ,
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@lunalein bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

Ooh, I've gotten so many recs from this thread. Thanks to everyone who's shared!

I've read dozens of books this year, but many have left me less moved than I would like.

On my list is:

The Emperor of Gladness -- Ocean Vuong

Eastbound -- Mayis de Kerangal

On Freedom -- Timothy Snyder

Braiding Sweetgrass -- Robin Wall Kimmerer

The City We Became -- N.K. Jemisin

The rest of my five-star reads were comfort rereads and not new discoveries.

@hosford42@techhub.social avatar hosford42 , to ActuallyAutistic group

At work, I routinely participate in meetings because I have trouble communicating verbally in the morning. It's nice to be included and allowed to communicate in the ways I find necessary.

But today, the chat was turned off without explanation. I'll be honest. This is like a slap in the face. I'm not being allowed to participate.


actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group

Furthering ,
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@hosford42 Oh, my heart goes out to you.

actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group

@Rhube@wandering.shop avatar Rhube , to bookstodon group

Looking for recommendations for reads like Diana Wynne Jones. Must be an easy reading style with good diversity of characters, fantasy or SF, engaging. A little angst much enjoyed.

Absolutely no gender essentialism or sexism.

Not Gaiman or Pratchett.

Basically, my chronically ill arse needs to read something easy to consume, but gripping - DWJ is great for this, but I have read through my DWJ collection many times. bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

Furthering ,
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@Rhube bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

For newish work that may fit that description, have you tried Travis Baldree of Legends and Latte fame?

You might also check out Victoria Goddard's shorter work about the Red Company. Her work is about kindness and friendship and is just lovely to sink into.

It really is hard to top DWJ for a certain something, isn't it? Light, fun, imaginative, a little twinkle in the eye.

I've just finished the third book in the Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett. The imagination is there, but I find these books a little dark (though someone else might not think so). The writing voice is a bit uptight and old fashioned. However, I do think the stories come together pretty well.

@ShaulaEvans@zirk.us avatar ShaulaEvans , to random

Saying, "Don't worry, it will all be okay" to someone who is intelligent, informed, and at risk is not comforting.

It's actually offensive and alienating.

If you wan to keep your relationships intact, and if you want to be a comfort to your friends, learn to sit with their concerns and distress without reflexively smothering them in toxic positivity.

It's a habit worth cultivating. We're all going to need it.

Furthering ,
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@JessTheUnstill Oh, this is a deeply loving response.

@ShaulaEvans

@Furthering@convo.casa avatar Furthering , to random

I'm reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and this quote is too beautiful not to share.

"We are showered every day with gifts, but they are not meant for us to keep. Their life is in their movement, the inhale and the exhale of our shared breath. Our work and our joy is to pass along the gift and to trust that what we put out into the universe will always come back."

Furthering OP ,
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@gerrymcgovern @NatureMC @FantasticalEconomics

"Kind and wise" -- what we can all aspire to be.