Lecy Beth

“If you draw a straight line from the tip of a ship and it continues—going straight—for one thousand miles, it will end up in the place to which it is pointing. But if that boat moves by only one tiny degree, for a few days of travel it may seem like that the ship is still heading to the original target. However, that one degree of change will eventually mean that the ship misses the original destination by more than sixteen miles on a 960-mile journey. That simple one-degree adjustment doesn’t seem like a big deal, day after day, but as those days slowly add up over weeks, you will arrive at a completely different destination than you originally planned.”
― Carlos Whittaker, How to Human: Three Ways to Share Life Beyond What Distracts, Divides, and Disconnects Us

“The collective stress of the Covid-19 pandemic mixed with racial unrest across the country, tied up with a divisive presidential election, all came together and created a perfect storm. This storm blew many of us off course—even if by one degree, it was enough.”
― Carlos Whittaker, How to Human: Three Ways to Share Life Beyond What Distracts, Divides, and Disconnects Us

“I remember the feeling that even when I felt safe, I knew the waves were there. I could not stay beyond them forever. I would have to be prepared for them to take me under. I would have to hold my breath, and swim. But first, I had to learn to be still. To lean into the movement. To let go. Swimming is dangerous when you’re afraid to float.”
― Rebecca Woolf, All of This: A Memoir of Death and Desire

“I think that the world has a way of knocking us off course. Somehow we get convinced that we need to change, pretend, or become somebody other than our original selves, even if the alteration is subtle and small and changes us by only one degree.”
― Carlos Whittaker, How to Human: Three Ways to Share Life Beyond What Distracts, Divides, and Disconnects Us