something to chew on

mentally, emotionally, spiritually...

The Fifth Pillar is emotional intelligence (EQ) with a pulse: think EQ in action, not theory. This is where I stumble and grow in my approach to both writing and the pursuit of a deeply fulfilled life.

Dear reader,

Good storytelling doesn’t need to be literal. I love a memoir, but fiction can be just as moving. Feelings rise and fall regardless of fact. This summer, I’ve practiced emotional regulation by consuming stories that have opened my mind to new POVs and unlocked memories associated with feelings that I would never have thought to revisit without a novel to prompt me.

I’ve recently realized that punchy, trope-laden stories are a thrill in the moment - but they tell me what to think and how to think to a degree that I might not need a brain at all. I’m slowly understanding that I prefer quieter turns, more character development over plot twists. I want something to chew on. I seek a story that stays with me beyond the last page.
I want to know that the main character hates the color yellow. What made her hate it? Who hurt her? Who loved her? When I walk past the antique shop and see a butter yellow lamp shade - I’d like to be reminded of that book - that girl - and wonder what she would say about it. I long to crawl into the parts of people that they might not love about themselves, and light a candle. To understand the human experience by pressing my mind so far into the backrooms of yours - that I can feel the sensation of your life. Books, I’ve found, are the least invasive way to do that. They say people can only meet you as far as they’ve met themselves, and fictional characters seem to have met themselves more deeply than those of us off the page. By reading, I learn how to walk a mile in your shoes, and I learn about myself in relation to you.

My summer reading list has been a mix of poetry and LitFic. This week I am sharing blurbs that have stayed with me through the waves of heat, saltwater, and chlorine alike. May you be inspired to identify some hide for your mind to chew on, too.

---

1. From: The Moon Is Always Female - poems by Marge Piercy

   Talent is what they say
   you have after the novel
   is published and favorably
   reviewed. Beforehand what
   you have is a tedious
   delusion, a hobby like knitting.

2. From: The Correspondent - By Virginia Evans

   Rosalie Van Antwerp
   33 Orange Lange
   Goshen, CT 06756 October 1, 2016

   
   Dear Rosalie,
   Harry has been here for just over two weeks. He got here looking awful, as gaunt as can be and dark circles under his eyes, his hair looking like he’d run a stick of butter through it, pimples all over his face. When James brought him to the door I nearly gasped. He’s huge, as tall as Daan, but lean as a pole. It’s painfully obvious the child is in need of a mother. He was about as limp as old lettuce and I could see James was holding his breath, hoping I wouldn’t change my mind. James is positively thriving in his career, but wretched in the way of his family going to absolute shit.

3. From: Lighter - By yung pueblo

   Not settling for less is one of the most direct ways for you to embody the principle of self-love.

   ---

   What have you been chewing on this season?
   

   xX kaylen alexandra Xx

   ---

   

   📬 P.S. Want a Custom Card?

   Paid subscriptions help me study the craft of storytelling. If you find value in my work, I will make sure you know exactly how you have supported me. I send decked-out physical snail-mail style cards to all paid subscribers as a tangible THANK YOU from the most grateful part of me, to you!