Every month, I’m going to give you a few things that have brought me joy in recent weeks. Maybe you’ll love them, too. Maybe they’ll inspire you to find other joyful things more suited to your tastes and temperament. And I’d love to hear from you — in the comments below or by email — what’s making YOU happy lately?
Thing 1: This short essay about artistic doubt
You know that feeling when someone else gives a name to something you’ve experienced, and it makes a subtle shift in how you process the world? That essay gave me that feeling.
It’s a quick read, so you should just go check it out. But to over-simplify in summary, Mark Cecil talks about doubt from the perspective that there are some forms you can wrestle with and come to terms with, and some forms you just have to wait out. Since I’ve been experiencing both types lately, I found his separation to be really useful. (Although I want quibble with the way he uses the term “meta,” I’ll admit that it’s the way modern society has been using it, so I it’s not an IMPORTANT distinction).
Thing 2: These tee-shirts
Okay, this seems like a pretty superficial thing, I suppose, but hear me out.
Back at the beginning of the year, I decided that one of my personal goals for this year was to refresh my closet a bit, and one of the things I needed FIRST was new tee shirts, because all my old ones were worn out. I decided to ask around for better clothing manufacturers, in hopes of finding some options that are better for the world in a multitude of ways. (more sustainable fabrics, better labor practices, etc.) In other words, I’m hoping to pull myself out of the fast-fashion trap, one small choice at a time.
Anyway – I found Fair Indigo, and bought a couple of their shirts. They’re a little pricey, especially if you’re used to discount shopping which has always been my history. But I LOVE them. They’re super soft. Super comfy. And I can already tell that they’re going to last longer than the discount shirts of my past.
Thing 3: Book Release Days
Traditional publishers mostly release new books on Tuesdays. I am now following enough authors on bluesky, or through their newsletters and blogs, that my Tuesday mornings are often filled with new book announcements — either by authors I actively follow, or because they’re sharing release information from other people.
And I love it.
Especially on days when the news might otherwise be kind of horrid. And when I need an emotional boost (which I did today because yesterday was pretty stressful for entirely personal and survivable reasons). But when I first cautiously opened my email and social media apps this morning, there were a bunch of authors excited about their new books mixed in with today’s terrible headlines and opinion pieces, and it made everything a little bit lighter and more survivable.
See – I did sneak in a serious point there, I can’t help myself. But that’s the whole point of my Favorite Things. To make everything a bit lighter and more survivable.
So – those are my three favorite things for April. What are yours?