Feel like a brand new person
So how will I know that it's right?
In a new direction
So how will I know I've gone too far?
Stop thinking you're the only option

-Rihanna, Same Ol’ Mistakes

• February 19th-25th is MSP Magazine’s Winter Restaurant Week. Tons of restaurants are participating and “some of the Twin Cities finest chefs are dishing out mouth-watering two and three course prix fixe meals at prices ranging from $15 to $45”.

• Check out Mia’s free exhibition American Gothic: Gordon Parks and Ella Watson. This 60 photograph exhibition, taken during the summer of 1942, “proposes new grounds for understanding Parks as an artist and activist, highlighting a unique professional collaboration between two Black federal employees at a crucial juncture in United States history.” (open through June 23rd)

Archetype of the Month - from Liana

The Scientist

“Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.”

 - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Can we tinker with one variable at a time, pausing to notice after each alteration? Can we approach change with the objectivity of the Scientist, who may hypothesize about outcomes but does not become attached to a particular result? 

In part a lament on how the language of science is stripped of meaning through use in branding (see “evidence-based”), psychologist and researcher Jonathan Shedler provides a full-throated, empirical case for psychodynamic psychotherapy. With lessons from research literacy we might humbly consider the sample population: advice from others might not work in vivo for us, and meaningful change in the context of the unique variables of our lives might not be broadly applicable to others.  

Image credit: Henrietta Swan Leavitt by Raúl Colón. Depiction of a forgotten astronomer.

Creature of the Month - from Kenna

Be Your Own Banana

Did you know that humans domesticated the banana? The bananas that we see in our grocery stores today started off as something quite different. Bananas have been reintroduced into society time and time again after years of cultivation. This can mirror our own experiences as humans. We have ever changing wants, needs and goals. Searching for contentment. This often leads to the question: “what can I change in my life?” 

Tweaking, changing, adding, subtracting. Playing around with the variables within our lives to find a zone of comfort. At least, comfort for the time being. This can manifest within micro and macro levels. Each carries its own impact. Each holds importance. Whether this be moving your bedtime to be ten minutes earlier, or moving to another country—each impacts your life. 

After years of refinement, we now have the banana! But it took time, trials, and error. It ended with the sweet fruit that we know today. What an awesome result! That is…if you’re a fan of bananas. If we each had the chance to tweak the ‘recipe’ to the perfect banana, it would vary person to person. Just like in life. We each have our own individualized rituals, behaviors, and patterns that work for us. Those differing aspects won’t work for everyone—and that’s okay, it doesn’t have to!

Disclaimer: We talk in this newsletter about making individual changes that may have an impact on your overall wellbeing. In suggesting experimentation with your habits/rituals/daily routines we don’t mean to imply that mental health concerns are the result of individual failings.

We fervently acknowledge that being forced to exist in oppressive systems is the main contributor to a lack of wellness. Our hope is that experimenting with what we CAN control about our lives will feel like a radical act of self love in a world that makes this kind of thing difficult.

Thanks for reading!