Amber

“This is one of the harshest after effects of the pandemic
that I am witnessing some
and experiencing some,
a diminished ability to deal with resistance,
and so
a willingness to stay in one place for too long,
shut off from the outside world,
nose in phone or binge-watching
some show
when once upon a time
we used to have to wait a week for the next installment
and discussed it with colleagues over water coolers
and over landlines with friends.

We need colleagues.
We need friends.”
― Shellen Lubin

“I remember a study that was done in the seventies (a study I've been trying to find unsuccessfully since the advent of the internet). It was a study of psychologists and psychiatrists, not of patients. They filled out three questionnaires, true or false questions. One was for the traits of a healthy man, next was for traits of a healthy woman, the third for traits of a healthy human being. The traits of a healthy man and human were the same, but a healthy woman was very different. Completely different. You know--softer, sweeter, more empathetic, less self-centered, less ambitious, more dependent. And these were the people who were treating people who were trying to live healthy lives.”
― Shellen Lubin

“If the voices and perspectives we assess ourselves by
are stuck in systems of their own
they can be another trap.
If they're stuck in their own agendas--
their needs and desires--
then they're another "wicked temptation"
to sell out our deepest truths
to please or pacify someone else.

Which is why I advocate multiple mirrors,
offering different ways of seeing,
of feeling,
of processing,
angles and views we might otherwise miss,
and
reminding us to revere just how complex reality is.”
― Shellen Lubin

“There are all kinds of ignorance that are insidious.
Most involve not asking the right questions,
or not questioning the assumptions in the questions themselves.

We can do better.”
― Shellen Lubin