Issue 29: On Hidden Faces, Courage,

 and Finding Your Family's Place.

Circe (1986) by Claudio Bravo

What detail surprises you in this painting?

 

Becca from Dressit noticed “what looked like a face inside of the scarf near the end! I thought that was surprising and wondered if it was intentional."

 

Now I can't unsee it.

 

Do you see something surprising?

Congrats, you've just sharpened your ability to identify emerging possibilities.

First name / Reader, , would you like to be featured in an upcoming issue?

Want more courage? Read American playwright Sam Shepard.

Each character might be operating solo, their emotions and desires might be petty or desperate or ugly to consider, but Shepard's language elevates his characters' thoughts to the scope and grandeur of the American West. They boom big in a prophetic, god-like voice that persuades your brain into thinking that you too are part of the world's larger, shared heart— and all the more courageous for being so.

 

Why do we do this exercise? 

So you get better at identifying what you feel and why. 

So we have a reference library of literary works to help you alleviate hard  feelings when they hit and build on your positive ones. 

You can learn more about the narrative techniques that rally your courage in chapter 1 of Wonderworks.

 

 

 

 

I'm not going to lie, this one is a bit of a trick question. 

 

Commonsense is your ability to match the newness of your plan to the newness of your environment. In singer Minnie Riperton's case, the environment around her had not changed, making A seem like the right choice.

But Minnie was the change in the environment. She didn't feel a connection to the “black'” sound of her day. She wanted to show the full range of her extraordinary musicality, unfettered.  

 

The correct answer is C.

 

 Minnie and her husband, composer Richard Rudolph, “retired” and moved their young family to Gainesville, Fl. There, they used an in-home studio to make the music they wanted to make— unbound by industry expectations of what a female black singer “should” sound like.

 

They soon made history with Lovin' You.

Fun fact: the Rudolphs' desire to find the right home for their family inspired their daughter, comedian and actress Maya Rudolph, to take the starring role in Away We Go.

 

Congrats, if you gave the game a go, you're getting better at choosing the plan that matches the degree of change in your environment. 

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