I must not debate the far-right-wingers.

Debating the far-right-wingers is the mind-killer.

Debating the far-right-wingers is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my urge to debate the far-right-wingers.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the urge to debate the far-right-wingers has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain. 👌

OH DEAR. THIS POST WAS SET TO SELF-DETONATE 💣 💥 🔥

Ą̷͇̀l̵̩̓̕l̸̩͘ ̸̭̪̈́ť̷̝̍̆h̶̡̛̰̯̏͌a̷͕̞͋̂t̵̩͙͑̈́͝'̵̛̍́ͅͅş̴̬̱͝ ̷̗̊͠l̵͚̕͠ē̸̻͓̐͝f̷̧͙̀̑͝t̶͓̓͊̚ ̶̜̱̓͌́a̴͉͊r̶̡̩͛̀é̵̦̞͕ ̶̮̾ṫ̷̡͈̍ḧ̸̛͍́̊e̴̫̅ş̶̥̰̓e̴̟̪͌͂̇ ̷̞̅͊̚h̷̰͕͈͂e̶̡̹̜̚ŗ̸̗͈̾̇e̴̩̍͐ ̷̪͉̩̀a̵̡̱̐͑͝s̴͎͖̈́h̸͈͌́͜e̴͕̝̐̌ś̶͓̆ͅ.̵̩̉ ̵̱͊͑̀

I want to apologize for my harsh language in that last post. 🙃

When I said that 2023 can suck a rock, I didn't mean to cast aspersions on any rock suckers here. If that's your thing, and it brings you joy, I'm happy for you, and I'm sorry I pathologized your rock sucking ways just to stick it to this no-good year.

Thank you for your patience as l work on sensitivity in my language and underlying outlook, and try to do better. 🙏🙂

Sigh. Double image, what does it mean?

It means this year can suck a rock.

Back to Monterrey tomorrow. I think this is a hardware problem, after tinkering with the drivers and settings to no avail.

It's just not my weekend for getting anything done - or for trying to keep costs low when things haven't worked out all year financially & I'm losing work in 2024.

But! So it goes. Some years just suck. Chin up and time to get the desktop out, to try to finish my work elsewhere tonight. TTFN!

😅 Well, mall internet is down, there's a phone argument at the next table, and the first novena event for kids is starting in the mall's main forum. ("Mi burrito sabanero" is playing: "my little desert donkey", about Mary on her way to Bethlehem: a local classic.)

I guess all I can do is work on the novel for a couple of hours, until internet returns here or power does at home.

Some days the world just tells you "slow down", eh? 🙃 All's well. It's just time to get schwifty, and roll with it.

Middle-of-the-day grief post.

The world is a heavy place.

Take a moment if you need it.

Give yourself the grace, the space, and the boundaries you need to, to continue to be here in the best form you can manage.

We're not finished yet. 🫂

Yesterday, one of the first news items I saw (after checking all my mailouts for key issues) was the following graphic.

I'm working 12 hours today (will check in later!), but I wanted to comment on the visual trauma of these news cycles.

The intensity of this presentation - LIVE! IN RED! - demands our attention, & elevates our helpless stress.

It is *so* painful that our world came out of early pandemic learning nothing about the fragility of life.

Remember it now.
Take good care of yours. 🫂

Just on the bus home, between writing stints (but still writing when I get back!).

Here's one of those lovely neighbourhood nativity scenes I try to capture every year. There is a huge sense of *el pueblo* in how folks in many Latino communities appreciate and understand the story of Christmas. If it's not about uplifting a holistic understanding of humanity, whom does the story really serve?

As a humanist, I love seeing people bring the best of their stories forward.

May yours keep you well.

Okay, folks. 🌎

As noted, I didn't want to publish a piece on COP28 that wasn't proactive. This one is.

COP28 was a cop-out.

We all knew it would be.

It's too steeped in private industry not to be.

But in the middle of the cop-out, action pathways were proposed that we *can* follow through on.

We just have to lean into the coalitions within the coalition that are *actually* looking for system-wide change.

So buckle up! This next part will be bumpy.

#ClimateCrisis

https://onlysky.media/mclark/cop28s-climate-cop-out-and-what-comes-next/

Almost finished today's piece, but I don't like it. I've been highlighting the abject failure of our institutions in a few recent articles: one on our uneven history of advocacy for human rights, one on the carelessness of media treating news of Saudi Arabia's oil plans as shocking, one on COP28's initial messes (this is the follow-up), and of course one on the inefficacy of the UN.

But I don't just want to repeat that all our institutions have failed, so I'm working on the proactive part now.

Ha. One of today's #WhatsMyCookieCutter posts was too good not to share.

If you don't get it, that just means you didn't waste as much time on the same parts of the internet in the past. Congrats!

If you do get it, I am so sorry.

(Also, what kind of monster makes cookies out of this?)

Last night there was a glorious rainstorm, and with it, an explanation of my killer headache prior. :) Pressure systems! Sheesh!

All right, week. Round 2 to starting you off right. Ding-ding!

Anyway - g'night, and g'luck! 🤗

Whatever floats your boat...

Whatever flips your pancake...

Whatever lights your candle...

Whatever lifts your luggage...

Whatever pickles your gherkin...

Whatever toasts your bagel...

Whatever drives your wagon...

Whatever pops your cork...

Whatever frosts your cookies...

Life's too short, mi gente - and horrifically filled with people who do *so much* to make everything harder than it ever need be for the rest of us.

If you're not hurting anyone, and you think it might even help...

Morning CoSo! ☕

Time to get to it! Let's see what I'm wrong about today. 👀😊

I never feel more like a creepy dude on the street than when I rubberneck and circle back to whistle at a well maintained beaut. 😅 And yes, I checked the curves from all angles, as one does. #FendersForDays

Well... this started as a news "brief", honest.

But deeper analysis was called for when I went a-sourcing a few claims. The problem with this week's failed ceasefire resolution is the error it continues to represent:

We keep acting like words can bypass the incredibly challenging factors shaping power in war.

So today's piece explores the lack of practical alternatives, regional instability, the challenge of courageous restraint, and more reasons suffering will go on.

https://onlysky.media/mclark/the-uns-failed-resolution-and-the-problem-of-power-in-war/

Not entirely satisfied with this one, but as they say, no work is finished: only abandoned.

In the free-to-read this week at #BetterWorldsTheory, I reflect on the part of my last piece that engaged in a "reaction cycle" - and recommend other thoughtful Substack writers while fleshing out a way for us to avoid falling prey to living in conversations centrally dictated by the sensational claim of the day.

We have to dream proactively, even if we can't do better just yet.

https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/building-the-community-we-want-to

Today's cultural #news insight:

On one page, more arguments from a fractured ELN still insisting on continuing to kidnap & hold people for ransom (ELN doesn't like being treated like everyone else in Petro's total peace approach to negotiating with various cartels & guerrillas).

On the other page? A write-up on Gaza in the third month of war.

When Westerners try to understand world reactions, it's important to remember that the world has different experiences with related elements. #Colombia

😅 My life is so silly right now that I only turn on the fridge long enough to chill cookie dough. But whatever - more cookies in process, to share at the office I'm working at today. 👍🏻

#CoSoBakes #AnyExcuse