Hello friends — I’m writing again today from my living room sofa, inside our house, where Jamie and I are a few days into our fourth week of self-isolation.
We’re still healthy and safe, and we’re keeping ourselves busy with making a new record and the small task of totally reinventing our business model for the year on the fly — yikes! 🤔
(I kid … we’re actually feeling hopeful we’ll be able to meet the challenge — more on that below.)
And … throughout all of this … there is one question consistently on our minds ☛
How can we …
given our unique sets of tools,
resources, and skills …
be of service to our community
in this extraordinary time?
These past couple weeks, part of the answer to that question has been
… a series of questions:
In this extraordinary time of global pandemic — when people in our community all over the globe are managing lives and emotions turned inside-out by the virus — it becomes even more clearhow inextricably intertwined we all are,and how connectedwe all are in the ways we love & hope & hurt & laugh & dream.
So … as a question-asker by nature … I’ve been publicly aiming some personal questions at our network of community around the world about their experience, with the intention of giving people:
- a moment of pause to reflect on their own experience & state of mind,
- a place to express that reflection and to be seen in it,
- and a chance to connect with other friends and strangers around the experiences we’re sharing globally.
The responses to my questions have come in droves! I think it means that we all have an amplified need for reflection and connection in this time. And it’s been a joy to watch people — who don’t otherwise know one another — share feelings and encouragement with one another in these forums.
Please, come find — and join! — those threads of conversation by clicking the links here:
☛ What is something
you find yourself doing every day now,
that you didn’t do everyday
before the pandemic?
My answer: calling my mom every day, because she lives alone and that makes isolation extra isolating.
☛ What are the names
of the emotions you’ve experienced
with regard to the pandemic
in the last 24 hours?
My answer: grief, worry, rage, gratitude, love for humanity.
☛ What’s one expectation of “normal”
that you have / are working to let go of
during the pandemic?
My answer: since we won’t be able to do our annual summer tour, I’ve had to let that go and work with Jamie to invent a new way forward this year.
☛ What’s something you did today
that felt good?
My answer: took a walk around the neighborhood and caught a few rays of sun and conversation with a couple neighbors.
☛ What’s one area
in which you’ve given yourself
an extra dose of grace today?
My answer: realized we’ve been working a lot, and really focused and hard, and needed a day off. So we took one. On purpose. Productivity can wait today.
☛ What out-of-the-norm isolation time
special snack or comfort food
have you been enjoying?
My answer: Nacho Cheese Doritos!
My answer: front-line health care workers.
In other news …
☛ Jamie and I are still hard at work making a new record. It’s going great, and we’ll be so excited to share it with you in the coming months.
☛ We planted a couple ranunculus plants in our front garden bed. They’re my favorite flower, and they’re bringing me so much joy!
☛ I needed a haircut, but of course the hair salons are closed, so Jamie cut my hair — and did a totally amazing job!
And … in just a little over 2 weeks from now … we’re going to start officially looking for hosts for our Online House Concert Tour! We’ve got some great ideas about how to create intentional, connective experiences with you in this unique time. It’s going to be a fun challenge to do this with those of you who want to join us in this adventure.
We’re going to start scheduling our
Online House Concert Tour in ~2 weeks,
but if you already know you’d like to host an online house concert,
you can let me know now,
and I’ll make sure you’re one of the first to get the info and application when we have them ready to go in a few weeks.
Message me at skc@shannoncurtis.net.
And, of course, we’ve been continuing our weekly Misfit Stars podcast (aka our weekly lifeline of pause, reflection, and conversation to collect our experiences and emotions during this wild and crazy time! Whew!). Here are links to the last couple of episodes:
Our Misfit Stars community is going to become our main hub for connection with our people and new community-driven projects in the coming months — and also the main vehicle by which we aim to raise monthly patronage support from our community to weather this time.
We’ll have more specifics for you about all of that beginning next month, but if you’d like to read more about it now, click here. And if you’re curious about how to get on board now, please visit misfitstars.com/join.
And … THANK YOU — SO MUCH — to those of you who have already reached out about how to support us in this time and who have already joined our Misfit Stars community. We couldn’t do any of this without you.
Alrighty. That’s all for today. One last thought for you:
You’re doing great. One day at a time. We got this. ❤️
Love and extraordinary times — shannon