Week 3: Ursula’s Back
“embracing the arts and nature”
Collage, cut New Yorker Magazine paper, 9" x 12"
Inner Critic Ursula got up from her nap this week. She’s convinced that “no one wants to hear your blather.”
ME: Um...
URSULA: There’s so much going on right now. People are focused on the big stuff in the world.
ME: Of course they—
URSULA: There’s so much content out there on the interwebs right now. People are bombarded with it. What could you possibly add that’s of value right now?
ME: I don’t know.
URSULA: For god’s sake don’t preach. Or teach. Or say anything to offend. Or try to show people how woke you are. For god’s sake.
ME: (blink, blink)
“Behind the Lens” by Malika Favre
February 10, 2020
So. Week 3.
It began with choosing a New Yorker issue the way I used to choose a bottle of wine—by its cover. And as any wine drinker knows, a clever, pretty, artsy label is no guarantee of delicious wine.
The issue I chose has cover art by Malika Favre, a French illustrator and graphic artist based in London. Her work is described as “pop art meets op art.” I found her on Instagram @malikafavreand was delighted. When I see an artist’s work that I admire, I usually want to imitate it. Such is the case with Malika’s work. Perhaps one day.
This week’s issue is from February 10, 2020. Oh, great! It’ll be all Valentine-y. I want to focus on LOVE. Always. Let’s do this, New Yorker!
I spent most of Sunday immersed in the magazine, intentionally keeping my phone at a distance (until I snuck* it in during bathroom breaks. I’m an addict. FOMO is real. Help.)
There were whimsical illustrations of people and hearts scattered throughout the issue. But that turned out to be the extent of the Valentine-y sentiment.
I’m not gonna lie. It was hard to get through most of these articles. And they’re not short. In summation, there was one about the assassination of Iran’s General Soleimani. (Remember that? A hundred years ago before Corona? In January?) There was one about the opioid crisis and how overdoses can be prosecuted as homicide. And the fiction piece involved domestic violence. Even the theatre review was about new adaptations of—get this—Medea AND Macbeth. Murder, murder, beatings, homicide, murder.
Yeah.
Inner Cheerleader Jules showed up to say, “You really don’t have to finish every article. You can give yourself permission.” I appreciated her gentleness, and I reminded myself that this project is not designed to be an escape mechanism. It’s designed to help me grow.
So I decided to trust the process and kept reading. Eventually, something turned my focus to frequency. As in science. Energy. Everything is energy. Everything has a vibration, a frequency. Color, sound, light, microwaves, this desk I’m writing on, my whole body, every cell in my body.
And I don’t know if this is science or not (it probably is), but you know how when you make yourself smile, it kind of lifts you up? And when you smile at someone else, it’s usually contagious? I think there’s an energy involved there. I think my whole frequency gets higher when I’m smiling. And I crave that. Not in a FOMO kind of way. I don’t want to chase that feeling down out of fear of feeling bad. I just want to hold a core of Joy even in the midst of chaos. Can I simultaneously be outraged at the world’s injustices AND hold onto hope for change? I think I have to.
Detail — “embracing the arts and nature”
So this week, in service to that Joy, I played more music. I sang more. And I found a phrase in the magazine that became the title of this week’s collage: “embracing the arts and nature.” See what you want to see in the collage.
In the world I want to see LOVE. ACTIONS based in Love, the highest frequency of all. I remain hopeful. And I continue to work at being a better anti-racist. One of the best things I read on social media this week was: “It’s a privilege to educate yourself about racism instead of experiencing it.” Indeed.
I’m not sure if Ursula loves this week’s collage. I’d ask her, but she’s outside smoking a Pall Mall. As long as she’s satisfied and occupied, she stays off my back. And frankly, if she wants to shorten her life, that’s her business. Smoke ’em if you got ’em, Urs!
Thanks for reading this far when you have so much content to choose from. I love you!
*For my grammar geeks: snuck vs sneaked
This week’s featured cartoon.
