On Poverty of Force

Yesterday my friend Josh (JJ Brinski) posted one of his typewritten poems, a lament about the current national delusion of enforcing a faux peace through violent power. It ended with the phrase "force has made me poor." It was one of those lines that stops you in your tracks and sets your mind ruminating in a thousand different directions. Force has made me poor.

I think it resonated so deeply with me because that's one of the many lessons I've learned as a parent. Yes, I'm an authority figure in my kids' lives. I'm physically bigger than them and I have more resources and a more developed prefrontal cortex. If I want to see a certain behavior from them, I can certainly force them to comply, whether through strict rules or punishment or intimidation. But there's a poverty to that, isn't there? If they're only going to do something because someone more powerful compels them, that's only going to breed resentment and dysfunction. They only have a few more years at home, and as soon as they're out from that power structure, it's likely that they'll boomerang in the opposite direction, potentially an unhealthy one.

No, true power is in giving agency. It's in freedom to express and explore and make their own choices about what they think is best for their lives. Letting them make mistakes and learn how to clean up the messes they make. Because they're not me, and they're not growing up in the world I grew up in, and I don't have all the right answers. Honestly I've learned more from them than they've learned from me.

This isn't just about parenting.

Ink on Paper

On that same theme, I recently ran a test print for an upcoming poster. I'll be playing with colors and backgrounds in the weeks ahead.

I also finished that initial run of those old postcards. I printed them in YMCK, but next time I might try CMYK. I also eyeballed registration, so sometimes things didn't quite line up, but still turned out pretty neat!

On the Bench

Gearing up for National Sauna Week!

Upcoming Events

Nothing planned until Pride Fest.

Other Rambles

I really enjoyed Oliver Burkeman writing about "The Freewriting Way of Life." Freewriting is an exercise that I turn to from time to time, that I first learned about in the wonderful book Writing Down the Bones. I never thought to apply it outside of writing, though, so this was a really cool idea.

See you out there,

PB