Dragon
We're in the second-to-last season of Game of Thrones.I've been thinking lately about loving what you love. About letting other people love what they love. About not criticizing, critiquing, or generally dismissing what brings us joy. Liz Lamoreux speaks about this often (most recently in an IG story where we was super excited about going to see Kenny Rogers in concert, and then asked that her viewers not reply with their opinions of The Gambler's music - just let her be in it and enjoy).During my Myers-Briggs training I found out that I am a "critical" INFJ. This preference serves me well in life - I gain credibility by using my NF-ness to suss out situations with a knowing that other people may not be able to feel or articulate, combine it with my critical eye, and create visions, solutions and efficiency. However, this preference also keeps me at arms length from other people. Like my Venus in Aquarius, I can love humanity, but I have a tougher time with the guy sitting next to me at Starbucks (especially if he's talking loudly on his cell phone or bumping his chair into mine).That arms-length way of being, that critical-of-other-people viewpoint, comes back to criticism of myself. And one of the ways I can release a little of that self-pressure is to really let myself LOVE what I love. Revel in it. Soak it all up. Explode with joy.Enter GoT. Lately, I don't care about spoilers, how it coincides with the books, how silly it was to have Ed Sheeran appear as a Lannister soldier. I just want to live in Westeros world.On Sundays, we watch the newest episode, as early at 7pm PST. Then sometime during the week, I dive into the newest form of literary criticism, videos on Youtube that dive into the whys, hows and symbolism in the show.New Rockstars is my favorite for this. They produce two GoT shows per week - a discussion format called Westeros Weekly and then an in-depth analysis in the form of an episode breakdown. Recently, the New York Times did an article on them (I felt so proud). The passion and intelligence New Rockstars have for their work is contagious. They love it. I love that they do.Other things that I'm loving right now:Cheyenne Barton's Instagram, IG stories and Youtube channelJudah and The Lion, especially Suit and JacketNASAAndrew McMahon and the Wilderness' Fire EscapeLiz Lamoreux's Instagram and IG storiesEsme's Rawness of RememberingStarbucks Early Grey with steamed almond milk and honeyMaude Garrett (and her yellow nailpolish)The Lively Show podcastBullet journaling Mira Sol's Wild Unknown tarot card interpretationsWatching A play, listening to her babble, seeing her pull up to a standThe National Parks (band)H learning to play the drumsColumbia's outlet store: this shirt, a cowel neck teal sweatshirt and these shorts.
For the month of August, I am posting each day using a prompt from The August Break challenge by Susannah Conway. The prompts encourage a “month of paying attention” which goes hand-in-hand with my new moon intention to focus on my creativity. I’m sharing all my photos on Instagram with #jtaugustbreak