Thank you so much for subscribing to my newsletter. I’m touched, all the way from my Brooklyn quarantine (day 18). How are you doing? You can reply to this email or answer via comment on Substack if you’re in the mood, or you can just let the question float in your head for a minute, like a private prompt for your private consideration. My answer would be something like “fine,” which in some circumstances is code for “not fine,” but in this one feels like an honest triumph. I have not looked mournfully into the middle distance in at least 24 hours, which is progress.
Congratulations on accomplishing a pre-Covid19 commitment to yourself! Excited for you and excited for those of us who feel a little more at ease from your writings. I loved your thoughts behind the word maybe; your editorial advice speaks to my inability to deal with black-and-white thinking. I moved across the country (Chicago > LA) the same week you started freelancing expecting my new life to be joyous and exploratory. Lessons abound for you and I as we enter a new beginning cloaked in another even newer beginning. Cheers, Haley.
Re: How are you doing? I have found that I do not ambiently "feel" anything, most of the time. I joke that I have One Thought per day, with friends. The more mechanized habits have taken over, and the otherwise intellectual mind has retracted its flow from the extremities, to conserve its heat maybe. Energy conservation. The only time I feel a seismic irruption is when I make the mistake of following congress--but, being Asian American, I also feel the need to study that disaster carefully and up close, to mitigate harm in my personal life somehow. I religiously enter AOC's lives, watch the scroll of comments whiplash from hate to adoration, and feel relieved by the steady answers from AOC herself. I mostly "mill," as Jenny Offill writes in Weather. Milling, faffing, dawdling.
I’m so glad you’re doing this. I have a page in the notes section of my phone called ‘Hayley Nahman wisdom’ with pasted quotes from your articles. I like to look at it when I feel anxious or lost or just need a little comfort. Totally agree about the reset button in the shower! It’s a thing, and sometimes I do it if I want to feel like I’ve exercised but can’t be bothered
Loved the first edition! I, too, have a strong attachment to the word "maybe" and love that it's a permission slip for not having all the answers. Can't wait to read more...
Hi Haley, congrats on your first newsletter! I know you've talked about this before, I think on IG, but could you please do a post on affordable therapy, for those who need it but feel like they can't afford it so they never looked? Thank you!!
I've been working on feeling my real emotions for a couple months now with my therapist and it's just so liberating when that actually happens, of course, but also weird to discover how easy it is to fall into denying emotions as a defense mechanism.
Also am crossing my fingers (but not holding my breath) that some of these "emergency measures" will become norms that will stick after the virus goes away.
I already loved your MR writing and IG reflections but wow, I love the direction you are taking with this newsletter. It is what I am always looking for. Reading it felt like having one of those really good, cathartic, and self-affirming conversations with a girlfriend. As someone who struggles to balance acute awareness of contradictions and an incessant desire to grow and empathize, I can't wait to read more about your own journey with the uncertain!
Congratulations on accomplishing a pre-Covid19 commitment to yourself! Excited for you and excited for those of us who feel a little more at ease from your writings. I loved your thoughts behind the word maybe; your editorial advice speaks to my inability to deal with black-and-white thinking. I moved across the country (Chicago > LA) the same week you started freelancing expecting my new life to be joyous and exploratory. Lessons abound for you and I as we enter a new beginning cloaked in another even newer beginning. Cheers, Haley.
Wow, what a time to move! Hope you're finding the support you need in a new place. Thank you for the encouragement!
Re: How are you doing? I have found that I do not ambiently "feel" anything, most of the time. I joke that I have One Thought per day, with friends. The more mechanized habits have taken over, and the otherwise intellectual mind has retracted its flow from the extremities, to conserve its heat maybe. Energy conservation. The only time I feel a seismic irruption is when I make the mistake of following congress--but, being Asian American, I also feel the need to study that disaster carefully and up close, to mitigate harm in my personal life somehow. I religiously enter AOC's lives, watch the scroll of comments whiplash from hate to adoration, and feel relieved by the steady answers from AOC herself. I mostly "mill," as Jenny Offill writes in Weather. Milling, faffing, dawdling.
I need to read Offill's book. Thank you for this!
I’m so glad you’re doing this. I have a page in the notes section of my phone called ‘Hayley Nahman wisdom’ with pasted quotes from your articles. I like to look at it when I feel anxious or lost or just need a little comfort. Totally agree about the reset button in the shower! It’s a thing, and sometimes I do it if I want to feel like I’ve exercised but can’t be bothered
Sweetest thing I've ever heard thank you
Loved the first edition! I, too, have a strong attachment to the word "maybe" and love that it's a permission slip for not having all the answers. Can't wait to read more...
I highly recommend Heart Alchemy Yoga channel on Youtube :)
Hi Haley, congrats on your first newsletter! I know you've talked about this before, I think on IG, but could you please do a post on affordable therapy, for those who need it but feel like they can't afford it so they never looked? Thank you!!
I've been working on feeling my real emotions for a couple months now with my therapist and it's just so liberating when that actually happens, of course, but also weird to discover how easy it is to fall into denying emotions as a defense mechanism.
Also am crossing my fingers (but not holding my breath) that some of these "emergency measures" will become norms that will stick after the virus goes away.
https://melanietheconstantreader.substack.com/
Enjoyed this! 👍🏼
Needed this 🙌🏼
Go Haley!
So excited for this! Love reading inner ramblings
hell yeah
I already loved your MR writing and IG reflections but wow, I love the direction you are taking with this newsletter. It is what I am always looking for. Reading it felt like having one of those really good, cathartic, and self-affirming conversations with a girlfriend. As someone who struggles to balance acute awareness of contradictions and an incessant desire to grow and empathize, I can't wait to read more about your own journey with the uncertain!
This is so kind, thank you!
Yoooo bravo! Forwarded to everyone I know
Haley, your writing reveals your kind spirit. Looking forward to read your newsletter!
Reading this felt just as wholesome and nourishing as having a long FT call with your best friend. Can't wait for more!