Monday Musings - 4.28.25
A few years ago, I was working in a cubicle with a little whiteboard. In an attempt to personalize my space and share some brief weekly thoughts, I would share a word, quote, and - as an avid reader - book of the week. Because it was always a vibe, I figured I’d do the same thing with my little slice of the internet over here. That said…
Welcome to Monday Musings! These will be short and sweet: I’ll share a word, quote, and book of the week. I may add a couple of sentences for each to explain why they were chosen, along with a little summary paragraph. Sometimes it’ll be just a quick list, and other times, I’ll have a little more to say. Whatever it is, just come along with me and go with the flow.
Word of the Week: CONTEXT
the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect:
the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.
Synonyms: climate, milieu, background
I chose this word as my opener just because context is everything. It will be something that comes up in future posts, videos, and something that I always keep in mind when assessing a situation. Facts and numbers are important, but they will never tell the whole story. Context helps us to make sense of those isolated statistics to understand the entire picture. Sometimes, the things that we don’t see, value, or understand end up throwing us the biggest curveballs.
Quote of the Week: “Do not desire to fit in. Desire to oblige yourselves to lead.” - Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Brooks is a prolific poet whose work I absolutely enjoy and need to make a point to revisit more often! This quote speaks to me for obvious reasons, but I love the emphasis that life is not about fitting in. We’ll have plenty of time to get into the way that I understand life and out purpose here, but suffice to say - fitting in is NOT the goal!
Book of the Week: all about love - bell hooks
This book is astounding. It is an intense and practical work on love and how we all relate to and affect one another. This will be a recurring theme in my own work, and so many of my ideas on love came from this work. But additionally, it is a reminder of how important it is that we define concepts, even the nebulous ones, in order to have group dialogue and understanding. We create this world collaboratively, and being on the same page is important to that process. Unfortunately, many of us are content to not even consider the perspectives of others, even though that is where our learning lies.
Hopefully, you are all beginning to learn a bit more about me, my thoughts, and my approach to life. There’s so much more to come, and I hope that you stay tuned!
Signing off,
Janae
